But It's Impossible!
by ThiefShipper101
Summary: Malik and Bakura have a bit of "fun" one night, but they forget to take their Millennium Items off. The results are rather shocking for everyone. Thiefshipping. Mpreg. Don't like, don't read.
1. Prolouge

**...I really have no comments for this story except that I've seen a couple of stories like this, and decided to try writing one myself. I have no idea how it will be or how often I'll be able to update. So, if you like it, great, if not, that's fine, too.**

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. I never have and I never will. Sorry.**

* * *

The blonde Egyptian glowered at the man standing before him. The man's shirt was unbuttoned, revealing a toned chest and stomach. The golden pendant around his neck stood out sharply against his pale skin. In his hand, he held another gold trinket, a staff with a sphere at one end. Two wings stretched out from either side of the sphere and an eye was engraved into the gold. This particular staff belonged to the Egyptian teen, and he was more than a bit miffed that the other man had the gall to snatch it from under his nose.

"Bakura, I swear, if you don't give that back right now, you are going to get it so bad," he threatened.

"Oh, believe me, _you_ are the one who will 'get it,' my dear." A barely noticeable blush now adorned the Egyptian's tanned cheeks.

"Fuck you."

"Well, if you're so excited for it already..." With two steps, the pale man closed the distance between the two and pressed his lips roughly to the Egyptian's.

The blonde made a grab for his staff, but only succeeded in unsheathing the knife that was hidden in the handle.

"Hmm...seems my lover wants to get kinky tonight. I like it..."

"Bakura, I swear-" The Egyptian let out a growl as Bakura pushed him down to the floor.

"Swear all you want." Bakura smirked, using the knife to cut off the blond teen's shirt. "You want this as much as I do, Malik."

Malik snarled. He knew Bakura was right, of course, but it didn't always mean he would submit immediately. Sometimes, fighting beforehand made it all seem so much better.

Bakura leaned down and forced his lips against Malik's again, pushing his tongue into the tanned being's mouth. Malik almost immediately bit down on the muscle invading his mouth. Bakura hissed and drew back, his guard momentarily lowered. Using this to his advantage, Malik wriggled out from under the albino man and started running. Adrenaline pumped through his veins when he heard Bakura collect himself and begin the chase.

They both knew where Malik was leading them. They had done it in many places; the shower, the couch, and the coffee table, to name a few. But both males preferred it in the solitude of their bedroom, where the creaking bed created the perfect symphony when mixed with the noises of their lovemaking.

Just as Malik had passed the closed door that concealed the desired room, he felt two arms encircle him from behind, forcing him to a halt.

"Gotcha," a heavily accented voice purred in his ear. Malik forced himself to keep from shivering as he felt vampire-like teeth nibble his earlobe. He began thrashing as he was pulled backwards towards the bedroom. He was not going down without a fight.

Malik's struggles were to no avail as he was forced down onto the mattress. Bakura climbed on top of him, straddling his waist.

"I win," he smirked, looking very much like a feral cat stalking a helpless mouse.

"Not yet," Malik snarled back. If he had to play as the mouse, he refused to be helpless just yet.

With a glint in his eye, Bakura raised the Millennium Rod. He unsheathed the knife and dragged the tip along Malik's stomach, leaving a shallow cut. Bakura raised the knife to his lips and licked off the blood, never tearing his gaze from Malik's face.

"Mmm...tasty..." he murmured. He bent down lower over Malik, their noses almost touching. "Delicious," he said, running his tongue over his lips. Definitely cat-like.

Malik entangled their legs, flipping them over. He snatched the Rod and sheathed the knife.

"That would be mine," he said, eyeing Bakura sternly. "You shouldn't have taken it. You should be punished," he finished with a coy smirk and a gleam in his eye.

"This seems more like a _reward_ to me," Bakura remarked, grinning seductively. Malik refused to be drawn in by the spirit's charm. Sitting up slightly, he reached down and slowly, painfully, antagonizingly slowly, undid Bakura's button and unzipped his fly.

"Hurry up, will you?" Bakura growled impatiently. "Before I decide to just fuck you right through the mattress?" Malik smirked.

"Ah, ah, ah! You need punishment, remember?" he said teasingly. Just as slowly, slower if at all possible, he slid Bakura's jeans down his hips, his thighs, his calves, before finally discarding them to the floor. He began absently fiddling with the rim of Bakura's boxers. As much as he would love to just tear off the remainder of both of their clothes and let Bakura take over everything, he had to remember the white-haired man's "punishment."

"Hmm...should I take them off...?" he mused.

"Malik, I swear..."

"What do you swear, Bakura?" This was a game they loved to play, relentlessly teasing each other until they were both so hard and horny, it was actually painful.

"If you don't strip and get on your back this instant, you won't be getting out of bed for a week."

"Is that a threat? It sounds wonderful to me," Malik teased, sliding off Bakura's boxers with a mischievous smirk.

As soon as he was liberated from his trappings, Bakura leapt up, shoving Malik underneath him. Malik growled Egyptian curses as Bakura carelessly pulled off the blonde teen's pants and undergarments.

"So, you'd like to stay in bed for a week, huh?" Bakura whispered huskily, mahogany eyes dark and clouded with lust. "Let me see what I can _do_ about that." He grabbed the bottle of lubricant that was always kept in the drawer in his night stand. But before he could open it, Malik snatched it and threw it to the floor.

"Fuck the lube," he said. "Just fuck me."

Bakura grinned, revealing his sharp canine teeth.

"As you wish, my dear." He spread Malik's tanned legs and settled between his thighs. He pushed himself slowly into the Egyptian's tight body, bending Malik's legs back as he began to move. He went slowly at first, but then went faster and faster.

Malik grunted and moaned as Bakura's large member hit that one spot inside him with each thrust. It hurt a little, considering there was no preparation or lube, but mostly he just felt raw, unbridled pleasure, coursing through his body with each movement and noise created by both men.

Through his haze, he heard a small clink of metal. He glanced down and smirked. The Millennium Rod's handle had found its way through the circle of the Millennium Ring, which was still hanging from Bakura's neck. They had never had sex with their Items on them before, and Malik found this to be rather interesting.

He threw his head back in a loud, drawn-out moan as Bakura, realizing he no longer had his lover's undivided attention, gave a particularly hard thrust into Malik's body.

"Gah...fuck, Bakura!"

"That's it, my little slut..._scream_ my name to the gods."

"Bakura, you jackass! Ah- Nnnn..." Malik was cut off by Bakura's mouth crashing upon his own, tongue seeking entrance. Malik eagerly granted him access, allowing their tongues to wrestle with each other, matching Bakura's thrusts in an all-too-familiar dance.

Both men were so engrossed in their intercourse that neither one noticed a faint golden aura appearing around their bodies. They didn't notices how the eyes on their Items began to glow, brighter and brighter as the two men neared their climax.

Malik came first, screaming out his release as his seed splashed over both of their chests. Bakura pounded into Malik's body a few more times before he released his semen deep inside his teenage lover. Malik groaned softly when he felt the warm, wet feeling inside of him.

The glow faded slowly from their bodies and Items as Bakura pulled out of Malik and laid down next to him. He took off the Ring and took the Rod from Malik, setting them both on his night stand. Both of their chests and stomachs were covered with small scratches from the prongs on the Ring and the wings on the Rod, but neither cared.

Bakura drew Malik close to his chest, allowing the blonde to tangle their legs together.

"I don't know about you," Bakura said, pulling the blanket around them. "But that was amazing."

"It was," Malik murmured sleepily, snuggling as close as he possibly could to Bakura's warm chest. His blond hair was sticking to his skin and the sweat and cum was beginning to dry, making him feel slightly itchy, but he didn't want to move. All he wanted to do was stay wrapped in Bakura's strong embrace forever.

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**This chapter was just a prologue, the next chapter will start the actual plot. Please review!**


	2. Chapter 1

**It's been about a month since my last update. Whoops. Guess time really does fly...when you're procrastinating.**

**Thanks to the people who reviewed! And to the person who offered some (not-so) constructive criticism!**

* * *

_Two weeks later..._

Bakura sat up, blinking to adjust to the sunlight filtering in through the window. He glanced at the spot on the mattress next to him. Malik was still sound asleep, breathing deeply. Bakura couldn't help but smile at the sight of the innocent-looking boy.

"_I'll let him sleep a little longer_," he decided, climbing out of bed. Stretching, he headed downstairs to the kitchen to make some coffee. He only truly cared about two things in this time period: Malik and caffeine. He needed at least one cup of coffee each and every morning. Malik would drink it occasionally, but he wasn't completely hooked like Bakura was.

Just as the coffee was finished, Malik stumbled into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes. Bakura chuckled.

"Good morning, sunshine," he said.

"Hm? 'Morning," Malik grunted in response. Bakura almost burst out laughing as he poured coffee into two mugs. He always found it adorable how much Malik hated mornings. Bakura, being a master thief, was always alert, no matter what time it was.

"Here," he said, giving Malik one of the mugs and a quick peck on the forehead. "Maybe this'll help you wake up." Malik grumbled his thanks and took a sip. Bakura leaned against the counter, taking a drink of his own coffee.

"So," he said. "What's on today's agenda?"

"Well, me, Ryou, Anzu, and Mai are going to hang out a bit today," Malik replied, taking another sip of coffee. He was beginning to feel more awake.

"You mean I'm not going to see you today?" Bakura said in a false whining tone. Malik laughed.

"It's only a few hours, Kura," he said, taking another drink of his coffee. "You'll live."

"It's still a few hours too long for my liking."

Malik blinked; Bakura was suddenly right in front of him. He let out a small "eep!" as the white-haired man started seductively kissing his neck. His eyes involuntarily drifted closed, enjoying the sensation.

"B-Bakura," he stuttered, trying to sound stern. "St-stop that. I don't-" Malik's eyes shot open. He stepped away from Bakura, setting his coffee mug on the counter.

"_What the hell?" _he thought, trying to ignore the way his stomach was rolling. However, trying to ignore it just seemed to make it worse.

"Marik? Something wrong?" Instead of answering, Malik slapped a hand over his mouth and raced to the bathroom. His coffee, along with the remains of whatever he had eaten for dinner the night before , came up. He felt his hair being pulled back; Bakura must have followed him.

"You sure you should go out today?" Bakura asked, concerned. "Maybe you should cancel your little playdate."

"N-no, I'm fine," Malik insisted. "It's probably because I had coffee without eating something with it. I'll be okay. Help me up?" Bakura frowned, but pulled his lover to his feet. He knew it was pointless to mention that Malik had coffee without breakfast several times, and he had never been sick before.

"You're sure you're okay?"

"I'm positive."

"Okay." If Malik wanted to spend time with his friends, Bakura knew it was useless to try and dissuade him. "Want something to eat?"

"Yeah..." Malik said, as his expression suddenly morphed. "No..." he moaned, dropping down before the toilet.

Bakura sighed, holding back Malik's hair.

"_And he's still going to want to go out today," _he thought. _"He needs to stop hanging out with women, he's becoming as stubborn as one!"_

* * *

"Malik, Ryou, hi!" Anzu Mazaki beamed at her two friends. "Come on in!"She stepped to one side, letting the two teenage boys enter her house. "Mai's already here," she continued as she closed the door.

Malik and Ryou went tin the living room and sat down on the couch. Anzu came out later, with a plate cookies.

"Anyone want some? I baked them this morning."

Ryou and Mai both accepted the homemade treat, but Malik politely refused.

"No, thanks. I'm not very hungry today."

"Malik, you haven't gone anorexic again, have you?" Ryou teased. Everyone, including Malik, laughed.

"It's not that!" he insisted. "I kept throwing up earlier this morning."

"You're not sick, or you?"

"No. I don't have a fever or anything, and I only felt nauseous when I threw up. It was probably just something I ate. After all, _Bakura_ cooked last night."

"Maybe you're pregnant," Mai joked. Malik rolled his eyes.

"Tell me another one," he said.

"Well, you and Bakura _are _as bad as a pair of rabbits..."

"Okay." Malik held up one hand. "First of all, I am a _guy_, and if there's anyone here who would like me to prove that, I would be more than happy to oblige. And second of all, I'm pretty sure that, considering fact number one, it's _impossible _for me to be knocked-up."

"But wouldn't it be great if you and Bakura _did _have a kid?" Anzu asked.

"Please," Malik said. "With that man, the kid would be lucky to last two minutes."

"Well, since we all know it's impossible..." Mai took something out of her purse and handed it to Malik. "Humor us a bit," she said with a wink.

Malik raised his eyebrows at the object in his hand.

"Mai, why are you carrying pregnancy tests around in your purse? What exactly have you and Jou been doing?"

"Well, I just figured they'd be a handy thing to have as a just in case."

"...So you carry them in your _purse_."

Mai's face flushed. "Oh, just go and use it already, you Egyptian whore!"

"Hey, uncalled for. I am not a whore. I am a sextoy."

Malik stood and headed for the bathroom, leaving his friends laughing behind him.

"_I'm taking this thing as a joke,"_ he thought, trying to keep his mind off of what he was doing. _"For a laugh. I mean, there's no way I can actually be..."_ His train of thought died as he stared at the pregnancy test in his hand.

"Shit," he breathed. "Shit, shit, _shit_!" He ran out of the bathroom, the cursed object falling to the tiled floor in his haste.

"Ryou," he said, leaning into the living room. "We need to go."

Ryou took one look at Malik's face and, apologizing to Mai and Anzu, took Malik's arm and made a beeline for the door. The two women stared in shock.

"You don't think..." Anzu began.

"I don't want to know."

* * *

Ryou didn't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out what had happened. The way Malik kept touching his stomach and shaking his head was enough of a clue.

"What am I gonna tell Bakura?" The words were the first spoke during te car ride, and so soft that Ryou almost didn't hear them. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel, forcing himself to look straight ahead.

"...The truth," he replied. "You tell him the truth."

"And how is that going to work out? Ryou, you _know_ Bakura. You _know_ how he feels about these things. I...I don't want to lose him."

Ryou took one hand off of the steering wheel and grasped his friend's hand.

"Don't worry, Malik. Bakura really cares about you. He's not going to walk out on you because of this."

"I hope you're right, Ryou. I really hope you're right."

"Don't worry, Malik. It'll be fine." Ryou gave Malik's hand a comforting squeeze. They continued on in silence for a few minutes. Malik leaned back against the cool leather of the seat and closed his eyes. Barely two seconds had passed before he wrenched them open again.

"_Shit!"_ he thought, clutching his stomach. He let out a small moan. "Ryou?"

"What?"

"I'm gonna throw up."

"...For real?"

"Yes, for real!" Malik clapped one hand over his mouth, fighting the urge to gag.

"Okay, okay! Uhh..." Ryou opened the glove compartment. "I should have something in here..." Ryou started pawing through the compartment, trying to watch the road at the same time.

"Ryou, in about five seconds I am going to puke my guts out all over this car and then _you_ will have to explain that to Mariku!"

"Ahh, just hold on! It's in here somewhere!" Ryou finally found one of the barf bags he kept in the car for emergencies (usually for when Mariku drove) and tossed it frantically to Malik. Just in time.

Ryou winced slightly when he heard his friend retching. Eventually, it stopped and was replaced with quiet sniffling.

"Malik?" Ryou asked softly. "You okay?"

"It was stomach acid," Malik replied, rubbing his throat. "It burns. Gods..." Malik buried his face in his hands. "This can_not_ be happening..."

Ryou was uncertain of what to say as he pulled up to Malik's house.

"It's okay, Malik. You're home. It'll be alright."

Malik wiped his eyes.

"R-right. Thank you, Ryou."

"Do-do you want me to come in with you? And help you tell him...you know...?"

"No. No. Thank you. But...it's best if I do this alone."

"...Right."

Malik got out of the car and slowly walked up to his house. He stopped outside the door, hesitating. Swallowing hard, he opened the door and stepped inside.

"Bakura?" he called.

"In here." Malik followed Bakura's voice to the kitchen. Bakura was sitting at the table, reading the newspaper. He looked up when Malik sat down across from him.

"You're back early," he remarked. "I figured you'd be gone most of the day, but it's barely noon."

"Bakura..." Malik swallowed. "I-I've got something to tell you..." Bakura blinked, noticing the look on Malik's face.

"Malik, what is it? What's wrong?" Malik took a shaky breath, unable to meet his lover's gaze.

"At Anzu's face, Mai gave me... It was a joke! It was supposed to... I just can''t believe it..."

"Malik!" Bakura reached across the table, taking both of Malik's hands and squeezing. "For Ra's sake, tell me what happened!"

Malik looked down at the table, fighting back tears.

"Bakura...I'm pregnant."

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**R&R, please!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Okay, chapter three. I wanted to post this sometime last week, but I didn't finish typing it until 11:30 at night, and I was exhausted so I went to bed planning on posting it the following morning. But then I woke up to discover I can't access the Internet on my computer because my computer has a virus! So now I have to type it up on the family computer when my parents aren't around to look over my shoulder. So, sorry for the delay and I hope that you all enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

A thousand questions entered Bakura's mind at once, but the only one he could vocalize was "…What?"

At his lover's reaction, Malik couldn't hold back his tears any longer. They ran down his face, dripping onto the table. Bakura stood and walked around the table to where Malik was sitting. Gently, he wiped the Egyptian's tears away.

"Shh…" Malik clung to Bakura, sobbing. Bakura rubbed his back gently, stroking the hikari's sandy blond hair. "Shh…"

Despite his calm façade, Bakura's mind was screaming at him, "_What the hell? Why did this happen? _How_ did this happen? It's impossible! This is a joke, that's it. Ryou and the girls put him up to it. Any second now, Ashton Kutcher is gonna burst in here with a camera crew, saying, 'You've been punk'd!'"_

As much as Bakura would have liked to believe this, he couldn't ignore the way Malik was crying. (It was hard to – the top half of his shirt was almost soaked through.) No one could act this distraught if they were pulling a prank, especially not Malik, who never cried in front of Bakura. He would only be acting like this if he was telling the truth.

"_Gods," _Bakura thought, _"What am I going to do about this?" _No sooner had this thought passed through his mind than another thought entered. A thought that he _hated_ more than anything, but there were no other options that Bakura could see.

"Malik," he said, tilting the boy's face up. "I'm going to go for a walk. Why don't you relax, maybe watch a little TV? I shouldn't be too long." Malik sniffed and wiped his eyes.

"O-okay," he said softly. Bakura leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on Malik's lips. And then he was gone. Malik stood in the kitchen for a few moments, hugging himself and trying to stop the tears that were still leaking from his eyes. He was used to the thief disappearing without warning, but he didn't expect it to happen so soon after he delivered his news.

The blond Egyptian headed into the living room, making his way over to the couch. He lay down and picked up the remote, switching on the TV.

"Up next: The Secret Life of the American Teenager."

Malik winced and quickly changed the channel.

"Here's what you missed last week on Glee: Quinn's pregnant, and everyone thinks that Finn's the father, but it's actually Puck-"

Malik changed the channel again. This time, Dr. Phil was imparting words of wisdom to his audience.

"Parents, talk to your kids. They could be in danger of becoming pregnant themselves,"

"Argh!" Malik shut off the TV. "Why is the whole world obsessed with pregnancy?"

Leaning against the arm of the couch, Malik tentatively places one hand on his stomach. He closed his eyes, trying to imagine a little life growing inside him. He felt a sudden surge of affection and a faint smile graced his tear-stained face.

* * *

Bakura stared up at the small, colorful building he was standing in front of.

"I do not want to be here," he muttered. "Ra, I do _not_ want to be here."

He walked up to the door, pushing it open. A small bell alerted his presence with an annoyingly cheerful tinkle. A short boy looked up from where he was sitting behind a counter.

"Welcome to the Kame Ga-Bakura?" The boy's eyebrows shot up to the ceiling. "What are _you _doing here?"

"Where's the Pharaoh?" Bakura demanded, ignoring the question directed at him.

"Why do you need to know?"

"I'll discuss that with him and no one else. Where is he?" His question was met with no response. "I am _not_ a patient man, Yugi! Where is he?" Nothing. Bakura sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Look, I'm not here to assassinate him or anything. I just need to talk to him."

"Up against the wall." Bakura groaned.

"You're kidding, right?"

"I won't go get him until you do."

Bakura resisted the urge to strangle the midget as he rested his palms against the wall, stretching out his arms and spread his legs. He bit back a growl as Yugi began patting him down, searching for guns, knives, swords, nail files, toothpicks, sharpened pencils, anything that the spirit could use to do his dirty work.

"Satisfied?" he asked when the short hikari finally stepped away. Yugi stared at him through narrowed eyes, deliberating.

"Wait here," he finally said. He opened the door which connected the game shop with his house and disappeared through it. With no more distractions, Bakura's thoughts quickly turned to Malik.

"_Gods, is he alright? He'd better be resting. Please let him be doing okay. Gods, how is this even happening?"_

"What do want, tomb robber?" Bakura's head snapped towards the door, where Yami was standing with crossed arms.

"Pharaoh," Bakura said. "I'm going to be as blunt as possible, so I can _leave_ as soon as possible." Bakura took a deep breath and blurted out," Malik's pregnant."

Yami smirked. "Mazeltov." He leaned against the doorframe. "You'll have to do better than _that_ tomb robber. I wasn't exactly born yesterday."

"THIS ISN'T A FUCKING JOKE, YOU FUCKING POMPOUS AIRBAG OF SHIT!" Bakura exploded.

"Please attempt to refrain from swearing in my hikari's home."

Bakura scoffed. "Tch. I can see I've wasted my fucking time here. I don't know why I thought _you_ of all people could help. If you'll excuse me, I have someone I need to get home to. _Two_ someones, now that I think of it." Bakura turned and started for the door.

"Wait." The albino spirit paused, one hand on the door.

"What?" he snapped.

"Are you actually telling the truth?"

"Am I acting like I'm kidding?"

"Well, to be honest, no, but with you I can never be certain."

"If you're so damn uncertain about it, just call Anzu, or Ryou, or Mai. They'll tell you that I'm not lying." Yami stared at Bakura for a few moments.

"I still don't buy it completely, but I'll listen for now. Come in, this could take a while."

* * *

Malik was still curled up on the couch, with the TV still off. He had tired eating, but everything came back up shortly after they went down. The crackers that he had just eaten were staying down so far, but he honestly didn't know how long that would last. All he did know was that he felt utterly miserable.

"_Where's Bakura?"_ he thought. _"Why isn't he back yet? He said that he'd be back soon…So where is he?"_ A small part of Malik wondered if Bakura _wouldn't_ be coming back, but he pushed that horrible thought to the back of his mind. Bakura wouldn't do that…Would he?

Malik closed his eyes, snuggling further into the couch cushions. Of course Bakura would be back. What reason could he possibly have to not come back? Malik was just being paranoid.

Malik yawned. The couch was so comfy, and he'd had a hard time sleeping the night before.

"_Guess I know the reason for that now,"_ he thought with a small smile. Now that he was over the initial "shock-and-panic" stage, he actually felt a bit…happy to be having a baby. He still didn't know _how _it happened, but he was grateful. It was a miracle, that was it. The gods had given him of all people a miracle.

"_Will it be a boy or a girl?"_ A boy would be easier to raise, but a girl would be beautiful, no question about that. He tried to picture what the child would look like, but it wasn't easy.

"_We'll have to pick out a name," _he thought, half-dozing. His smile grew slightly. "_I still can't believe it…"_

His last thought before finally falling asleep was to wonder why the gods had chosen _him_ to bestow this gift on.

* * *

"That's the whole story? You didn't leave anything out?"

"Just when Malik and I were having sex, but I'm _sure_ you don't want to heat all the details of that."

Yami made a face. "Yes…Thank you, tomb robber." He turned serious again. "So, just to recap, the last time you and Malik had sex was two weeks ago, correct?"

"Yes."

"And you haven't done anything since then, correct?"

"Yes."

"And Malik's been complaining about not getting much sleep."

"Yes, but I'm not sure if that counts because he's _always_ complaining about his lack of sleep."

"Hmm…" Yami was silent for a few moments, thinking. "Was any Shadow Magic used in the intercourse or foreplay?"

Bakura frowned. "No…well, I _was _wearing the Millennium Ring and he was holding the Rod, if that counts."

"I see. Well, then, tomb robber, I may have an explanation for you."

"Please feel free to share it."

"Well, back in ancient Egypt, the Millennium Items had many uses. One of which was fertility. Let's say you had a scribe or a merchant who had to pass his trade on to a son, but didn't have one. He would come to the Pharaoh's Court with his spouse and if they were both found worthy, the priests would use their Millennium Items to…ahem, help the couple out. That's probably what happened with you and Malik."

"But…Malik's a _boy_!"

"The Millennium Items don't discriminate."

Bakura stood, balling his hands into fists.

"Listen here, you stuck-up pea's-cock. This may not seem like a big deal to _you_, but I think that everyone knows that I'm not ready to be a father!" As the words he had just uttered sunk in, Bakura's eyes widened.

"Gods," he whispered, falling back onto the chair that he had been sitting on. "I'm going to be a father."

"Snap out of it, tomb robber," Yami said.

"Pharaoh, you know as well as I do that I'm not prepared for this. I never had a father around to show me how a father acts. What am I supposed to do?"

"_He's asking me for advice. He must really be desperate,"_ Yami realized.

"You know," he said slowly, choosing his words carefully. "Home pregnancy tests can sometimes be false alarms. If you want, I can come over in a couple of hours and check Malik out to see if he is pregnant."

Bakura leaned back, thinking hard.

"Alright," he finally agreed. "But don't use the term 'check him out.' It makes me think you're going to start hitting on him, which would _ensure_ your death."

"Trust me, I know better than to try something like that."

"Good. I'll show myself out now."

"I'll stop by in a couple of hours. And if Malik really is pregnant, I honestly pity that child."

"Why?"

"It'll be _yours_."

"…Point taken."

* * *

**Again, sorry for the wait. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Here I am, with another update. Sorry that there's always such a long wait between updates, but my computer's fixed now, so I'm going to try my very hardest to update more often.**

* * *

Bakura unlocked the front door and let himself in.

"I'm back, hon," he called. There was no answer. His heart almost stopped. "Malik?"

He looked into the living room. A large smile spread across his face. Malik was lying on the couch, fast asleep. He had one arm draped over his stomach and a faint smile on his face.

Bakura went to the hall closet and got down a spare blanket. He went back to the couch and laid it carefully over his sleeping lover. Then he leaned down and, ever so gently, brushed his lips against Malik's forehead. The Egyptian stirred.

"Mm...Kura?"

"Sorry. Did I wake you?"

"Nah. Where were you? I was getting worried."

"Sorry. I went to see the Pharaoh."

Malik's brow creased in confusion. "But...you _hate_ the Pharaoh..."

"Don't remind me. But I figured that if anyone knew something about this, he would. He told me that it might have something to do with using our Items as sex toys. Apparently, they were used to impregnate people in ancient Egypt."

"Oh. So that's it."

"You know what else he told me?"

"Hmm?"

"Sometimes home pregnancy tests can be false alarms. You might not be knocked-up after all."

"...R-really?"

"Mhmm."

"Oh..." Malik let out a sigh of...was that relief or disappointment?

"But he _did_ say that he'd be stopping by in a couple of hours to give to an examination. You know, to see if you are or not."

"The Pharaoh? He's coming _here_? To look at _me_? And you're actually letting him?"

"Yes..."

"...But you _hate_ the Pharaoh!"

"I know!" Bakura leaned down and touched his forehead to Malik's. "But if he's able to help you, I'm going to have to put up with him." Bakura kissed Malik, gently at first. Malik wrapped his arms around Bakura's neck as the pale spirit slipped his tongue into the tanned boy's mouth. Malik moaned softly, allowing Bakura to take dominance over the kiss. Bakura's lips soon left Malik's, moving to his neck. Malik closed his eyes, tilting his head slightly. He was enjoying this _immensely_, until a sudden thought crossed his mind.

"Mm...Bakura...Not right now. Not until we know for certain."

Bakura reluctantly pulled away from Malik's neck and stared at his boyfriend in slight confusion.

"I don't know if it would be safe for the baby," Malik explained. Bakura groaned.

"If I had known that you would get yourself knocked-up, I would've taken the damned Ring off first!"

Malik laughed, reaching up to hug Bakura.

"You're such a sex addict," he teased.

"Mm. Only for you, my little slut. Now, I want you to go upstairs and change your clothes."

"...What?" Malik glanced down at the clothes he was wearing: light purple sleeveless midriff hoodie, and black leather pants. Nothing unusual for him. "Why?"

"You look good in that outfit. I don't want 'His Majesty' to get any funny ideas."

"Oh, please. Like he'd even think of trying anything with you here to protect me."

"Go and change. For me?"

"Oh, alright!" Malik stood up and stretched. "And what should I change into, so that I don't look 'too good'?"

"Hmm...something pretty, but not _too_ revealing."

"Revealing?" Malik paused, one hand on the banister and one foot on the stairs. "You realize he's most likely going to make me take my shirt off."

"Yeah. So?"

"...Never mind," Malik said, going upstairs and into the bedroom he and Bakura shared. He went over to the dresser and took out a black tank top and a pair of baggy blue jeans. (The jeans were probably Bakura's, but people always said that he looked good in Bakura's clothes.)

After he changed, he went back downstairs.

"Satisfied?" he asked Bakura, putting his hands on his hips. Bakura looked him up and down, studying his outfit.

"You still look good, he finally said. "He might get funny ideas."

"Screw you. I'm not going to change again," Malik said, flopping down on the couch. "He'll probably be here soon, anyways..."

Bakura moved closer to Malik and wrapped one arm around the teenager's shoulders. "Hey, don't look so nervous," he said. "This whole thing could just be one big false alarm."

"That's just it, Bakura. ...I don't know if I _want_ it to be a false alarm. I mean, I've always wanted kids, and I'll have you around to help me take care of it. I...I think I'm actually..._happy_."

"...Really." Bakura was silent for a moment. He gently squeezed Malik's shoulder. "Well, I guess that if it turns out that this _is_ a false alarm, and if you really want to have kids...well, we know what to do to make it happen."

"Oh, Bakura!" Malik cried, throwing his arms around the spirit's neck. Bakura rubbed his back, nuzzling Malik's hair. They stayed like that until the doorbell rang. Bakura released his hold on Malik and sat up.

"It's open," he called. The door opened and Yami, Yugi, Ryou, and Mariku entered. As soon as he caught sight of Bakura, Mariku's eyes flashed.

"You!" he yelled. "You knocked-up my hikari!" Sensing a serious threat to his well-being, Bakura vaulted behind the couch, ready to bolt if push came to shove.

"It was an accident, I swear!" he insisted. Mariku glared at him, stalking threateningly towards the couch.

"You know, I'll bet the Shadow Realm is simply _lovely_ around this time. Why don't you pay it a visit and let us know?"

"A _very _tempting offer, Mariku, but I'm afraid I'll have to decline. Nothing stopping _you_ from going, though."

"That's it, tomb robber. You're fucking _dead_!" Luckily, before the Egyptian yami could attack, Ryou stepped forward.

"Mariku, sit," he ordered. Fuming, Mariku sat down on the floor, crossing his arms and glaring at Bakura.

"Stay," Ryou said, patting Mariku's head. The pale hikari walked over to the couch and sat next to Malik. "You can come out now," he said to Bakura. "I've trained him well enough."

Bakura slowly came around the side of the couch, keeping a wary eye on Malik.

"And you brought him _because_?" he asked Yami.

"In case I needed any assistance. Mariku can manipulate Shadow Magic just as well as I can," Yami explained. "Besides, after he heard the Marik might be pregnant, he was _very_ eager to show up and help out."

"Oh, please. You were just hoping that he would try and kill me, weren't you?"

"Well, I won't deny that it was very amusing."

Bakura growled. "Just look at Malik so that I can get you out of my house."

"Patience, tomb robber. I don't know how long this will take." Yami made his way over to the couch. "Malik, could you please take off your shirt?"

Bakura sat down a safe distance from Mariku. The Egyptian yami looked at him and growled threateningly.

"You knocked-up my hikari. I should break your neck."

"Oh, go ahead and try, you hypocrite. I _know_ you're screwing _my_ hikari," Bakura said, bot taking his eyes off of Yami, who was, he felt, getting a bit _too_ close to Malik. The ancient Pharaoh's hands glowed with the purple-black aura of Shadow Magic as he studied Malik's lower abdomen, his face creased with concentration. Malik sat patiently - if not a bit uncomfortably - as Yami's hands wandered across his stomach, tickling slightly.

After a few minutes of examining, Yami lowered his hands.

"Well," he said. "It's true. Congratulations, tomb robber. Malik is, indeed, pregnant."

As soon as Yami spoke these words, Mariku jumped up and lunged for Bakura. Bakura fell to the floor as Mariku wrapped his hands around his throat.

"You son of a bitch! I'm gonna kill you!" the Egyptian yami yelled. Bakura tried to say something, but found it difficult to speak when one was being strangled.

"Mariku!" Ryou stood up, arms crossed. "Get off of him right now or _you_ won't be getting any tonight!"

Immediately, Mariku pulled his hands away from Bakura's throat and moved back, growling. Bakura sat up, rubbing his throat and cough.

"Wow, you really _have_ trained him well," Yami commented.

"It wasn't really that hard. I just know what he likes," Ryou said. Bakura stood up, eyeing Mariku warily and sat on the couch next to Malik. He took Malik's hand and squeezed it gently.

"Well, Malik?" he said softly. "Anything to say?"

"Just...wow," Malik said. "I can't believe it."

"It was the Millennium Items," Yami said. "There's no other explanation."

"Really?" Ryou asked. "Your Millennium Items helped you get pregnant?"

"Don't get any ideas!" Mariku said.

"I _won't_," Ryou responded, smiling gently at his lover.

"That's probably a smart choice, Ryou," Yami said. "I'm not exactly an expert on it, but I know that Malik's going to be in for a rough nine months. Exhaustion, morning sickness, mood swings, cravings, not to mention labor."

"He had mood swings and cravings to begin with," Bakura muttered.

"Good, then you'll be used to it," Yami shot back. "Now, I'm no doctor, but I'm pretty certain that you two will want to keep this a secret from the general public. If you'd like, I can handle the examinations, if that's all right with Malik."

"Could you?" Malik asked before Bakura could respond. "I don't think I'd be comfortable discussing this with any doctor. They'd probably tell the newspapers and Bakura and I would never get any privacy." He ducked his head in slight embarrassment. "And if my brother and sister find out..." Malik, Bakura, and Mariku let out a collective shudder.

"Alright, I will." Yami stood up. "I'll stop by tomorrow with something for morning sickness tomorrow. If Malik's going to be eating for two now, he'll need to be able to keep the food down."

"Thank you, Yami," Malik said. Yami motioned for Mariku, Ryou, and Yugi to follow him. Before he reached the door, he paused.

"One more thing," he said. "Since I know how you can be, Bakura, I would advise against you two having sex until after the baby is born. I have no idea if it would cause harm to the fetus or not." Bakura groaned and dropped his head back against the couch cushions.

"Dang it," he said. Malik smiled.

"You'll be fine, 'Kura," he said. "It's only nine months."

"_Only?_ It's almost a year!" Bakura cried. "_And by the time the kid is born, we'll have to be quiet, and then when it finally moves out, Malik will be too old to enjoy sex anymore,_" he realized. He moaned. "I'm never gonna get laid again!" Yami rolled his eyes.

"Maybe you should consider a name change from the Thief King to the Drama Queen. It's only sex. You won't die if you have to deprive yourself for the safety of your child."

"As far as you know," Bakura muttered. "Get out of my house." Malik shot him a look. Bakura rolled his eyes. "Get out of my house, _please_."

"Come on, Yami." Yugi tugged at Yami's sleeve. "We've worn out our welcome."

"We should go, too, Mariku," Ryou said. Mariku didn't respond, instead choosing to glare at Bakura, who now had one arm around Malik's shoulders and one hand on his stomach.

"Mariku?" Ryou said, taking the Egyptian yami's hand. When this got him no response, he wrapped Mariku's arm around his waist and slipped his hand up the back of Mariku's shirt.

"Mari~!" he whined, tracing the scars on Mariku's back. "Stop ignoring me!" Mariku's attention was immediately brought to the pale boy beside him.

"Hm? Oh, hey, ryou, whu don't we head home? Malik and Bakura could probably use some time to let this sink in."

Bakura laughed.

"Be careful, Mariku," he warned. "If I find out you gave my hikari some horrible disease, blood will be shed. _Your_ blood."

Mariku took no notice of the threat, too focused on his fantasies as he pulled Ryou out the door.

"Bye, Malik!" Ryou managed to call out as he was dragged - most literally - out of the house. Malik smiled.

"I think that Mariku might be an even bigger sex addict than you," he said to Bakura.

"Impossible," the spirit replied. "I had it so often back in ancient Egypt that it was impossible for me to survive without it in these modern times. Your yami is just overly obsessed with screwing my hikari. He'll outgrow it in a year or two."

Yami coughed to get Malik and Bakura's attention. "Like I said, I'll stop by at some point tomorrow and talk about this a little bit more."

"Okay. Thanks again, Yami," Malik said with a small smile.

Yami nodded. "Let's go, aibou." The short hikari smiled at the Pharaoh's spirit.

"_So,"_ he said via mind-link. _"When do you plan on telling them that it's actually okay to have sex when Malik's pregnant?"_

"_I actually just want to see how long Bakura can last before he begs me to look it up," _Yami replied with a smirk.

"_I thought that _Bakura _was the evil one."_

"_What can I say? I just couldn't pass up the opportunity."_

"Bye, Malik!" Yugi said as he and Yami left. "Bye, Bakura," he added with much less enthusiasm. Malik and Bakura were left alone. Malik's eyes were soft with wonder and a small smile was on his face as he laid one hand against his stomach. Bakura watched him for a few minutes before wrapping an arm around Malik and pulling him close. Malik leaned against Bakura shoulder and closed his eyes.

"Malik?" Bakura whispered.

"Hm?"

"Are you angry at me?" Malik didn't answer for a few seconds. He lifted his head from Bakura's shoulder and stared at the pale man with sad eyes.

"Why would you think that?" he asked quietly.

"I was locked in the Millennium Ring for thousands of years. I should have known that it had a power like this. I could have prevented..._this_ from happening."

"I'm _glad_ you didn't!" Malik said. "If you had known, this miracle never would have happened to us!" Malik looked down. "Bakura, when I was younger, I swore that no son of mine would ever go through the Tombkeeper's Initiation. Then I met you and realized that I would never have kids anyway. I was disappointed, but I accepted it because I didn't want to lose you. But now...now that I learn that I _can_ have kids...I'm...I'm happy. I don't know why, exactly, but I am. Happier than I've been in a long time."

Bakura wrapped his arms around Malik and pulled the smaller boy against his chest.

"It's okay, Malik," he soothed. "If you're happy, then I am, too." Was he? Bakura had never been an overly "kid-friendly" person. If someone had asked him two weeks before what he thought of children, he would have immediately responded that they were whiny, filthy creatures that existed for the sole purpose of keeping the human race alive. To put it bluntly: Bakura hated kids. He had always felt that one of the perks to being with Malik was that he wasn't able to have kids. Malik was happy, which always made Bakura feel a warm tingle of what he assumed was some sort of affection inside of him, but he couldn't help but wonder if this was going too far.

"Baku?" Malik started hesitantly, using the nickname that only he was allowed to use. "Are you sure that you're okay with this? I-I know that you don't like kids..."

"Don't worry about it," Bakura found himself saying. "I can deal."

Malik smiled, his whole face lighting up. He nuzzled closer to Bakura's chest, wrapping his arms around the spirit's torso. He closed his eyes and sighed as Bakura gently rubbed his back.

"It's getting late," the white-haired man said softly. "We should probably get to bed."

"Carry me?" Malik asked. Bakura sighed.

"Alright," he said, standing up. He reached down, wrapping one arm around Malik's shoulders and sliding the other under the teen's legs. Malik smiled and nestled his head against Bakura's chest. Bakura couldn't help but smile to himself as he carried his young lover up to their bedroom.

Malik pulled on a pair of sweat pants and snuggled under the blankets as Bakura stripped down to his boxers and crawled into bed next to him. Malik rolled onto his side and smiled at Bakura.

"Baku?"

"Hm?" Bakura propped himself up on one elbow to look down at Malik. "What's up?"

"Well...part of me is afraid that all this is just some crazy dream and when I wake up, it never will have happened."

Bakura sighed, leaning over and kissing Malik.

"Well, here's hoping," he said. Malik narrowed his eyes.

"Bakura," he said warningly.

"I'm joking. Don't worry, Malik." Bakura wrapped his arms around Malik, kissing the top of the boy's head. "I can see how happy this makes you, and, for your sake, I hope that this isn't a dream."

"What about you, Bakura?" Malik asked quietly. "What do you want?" Bakura hesitated, carefully deliberating his answer.

"I want for you to be happy," he finally said. "And if that means I have to be a father, then, the gods help me, I'll do it."

"Thank you, Bakura. You have no idea how much that means to me."

"...Go to sleep, Malik. We can talk more in the morning."

"...Okay." Malik snuggled closer to Bakura, nuzzling his face against the spirit's chest. "Goodnight, Bakura."

"Goodnight, Malik." Within moments, Malik was sound asleep, breathing slow and even. Bakura watched him, raising a hand to run slowly through the teen's hair. Malik murmured in his sleep and snuggled closer.

"_He's only sixteen,"_ Bakura thought. _"He's too young to take care of a child. How is he going to be able to handle this?"_ He tried to end his thoughts there, but another question burrowed it's way into his head.

"_How am _I_ going to be able to handle this?"_

* * *

**Malik is two weeks along.**

**I hope that this chapter is worth the month-long wait (it actually has been exactly a month. My last update was April 19, and now it's May 19.). I'm hoping to get better at updating more often, but I've only got up till chapter 6 written by hand so far. **

**Review?**


	5. Chapter 4

**Well, here is yet another (late) update. The good news is, school finally ended, so I should have more time to write and less time wasted doing silly things, like homework and tests. **

* * *

_Bakura winced as another scream echoed through the house. He continued to pace in a circle around the living room._

"_It's been two hours," he muttered. "When is this gonna end?" Malik screamed again and Bakura had to fight the urge to run upstairs. Despite Bakura's protests, Yami had sent him downstairs._

"_I'm not a real doctor," the former pharaoh had patiently explained. "I can't have any distractions, and you, Bakura, are a distraction!"_

"_God dammit," Bakura said. "This isn't right. I should be up there, with him. Not down here, worrying out of my skull. I-" Bakura froze in mid-pace. The screaming had stopped. But it was absolutely silent. Yugi wasn't coming downstairs to congratulate him. The baby wasn't crying. Nothing._

_Something was very, very wrong._

_Bakura flew up the stairs, taking them two at a time. He got to the bedroom door just as Yami stepped out._

"_Let me in," Bakura growled. Yami shook his head._

"_You don't want to go in there, tomb robber. Not unless you want to go into shock."_

"_What are you talking about?" Yami didn't meet Bakura's eyes._

"_Tomb robber, you need to understand this. Even with the Millennium Items and Shadow Magic at our disposal, male pregnancy is very risky. Malik wasn't physically strong enough to-"_

"_What are you saying? Let me see him!" Yami regarded Bakura with slight sadness in his eyes._

"_I'm sorry, Bakura. Your child was stillborn. And Malik just wasn't strong enough."_

"_I can't understand when you speak in riddles, pharaoh. Why can't I see them?"_

"_For Ra's sake, they're dead, Bakura! The child was born dead and Malik was too weak to handle the labor. I'm sorry."_

_Bakura's blood ran cold. He felt numb._

"_No. You're...lying. You're lying!" he yelled, shoving Yami aside and storming into the bedroom. He froze._

_The first thing he saw was the baby, lying on a table, stiff and still. Then he saw Malik. The one and only person he cared about in this time period. Blood covered the sheets. Malik's violet eyes were wide open, his face clenched in an expression of pain. But his eyes were blank, unseeing. No spark of life at all. Bakura, the great thief king, felt himself falling, brought to his knees at the sight before him._

"NO!" Bakura jerked into a sitting position, gasping. He looked around the room in bewilderment, trying to grasp his surroundings. His gaze fell on the mattress next to him. Malik was curled on his side, sound asleep. The boy's light blond hair framed his face, the picture of innocence. Bakura slumped down, a sense of relief stealing his strength.

"A dream," he murmured. "Just a dream." Bakura brushed a strand of hair off of Malik's face, his breathing slowly returning to normal. Of course it was just a dream. It had only been a week since they had learned of Malik's pregnancy. They still had about eight months to go.

With a small frown, Bakura pushed up Malik's shirt slightly. He laid his hand against Malik's stomach, being careful not to wake the sleeping teen. He closed his eyes, summoning the power of the shadows. His pale hand began to glow. He breathed in deeply through his nose, letting it out slowly. _There_. There it was. Something microscopic and not yet breathing or with a heartbeat, but very much alive.

"Satisfied?" Bakura opened his eyes and pulled his hand away at the whisper. Malik opened his eyes and smiled up at his lover.

"How many times are you going to double-check?" he asked.

"I can't help it," Bakura replied. "I'm still having a hard time believing it."

"Heh. Try being in my shoes for a day," Malik teased, pushing himself into a sitting position. "You'd have no trouble believing then," he added, leaning up to kiss Bakura.

"Mm. Don't remind me," Bakura murmured around Malik's mouth. Malik pulled away with a smile and lay back down.

"So," he said, snuggling under the covers. "What are you doing up at three a.m., besides checking on our daughter?"

"Son," Bakura corrected. "Just a dream."

"Daughter. Good dream, or bad dream?"

"Son. Does it matter?"

"Of course it matters, Bakura," Malik said, dropping the pretend "son-or-daughter" argument. "There's a huge difference between a good dream and a bad dream."

"Not to me, there's not," Bakura muttered.

Malik started to respond, but stopped, his face twisting.

"Dammit," he moaned, throwing back the covers and running out of the room with one hand over his mouth.

Bakura leaned back and stared up at the ceiling before getting up and following the Egyptian. He found Malik in the upstairs bathroom with his head in the toilet, retching. Bakura knelt down next to him and gently pulled his hair back. Malik finally stopped throwing up, but still breathed heavily. Bakura rubbed his back.

"You okay?" he whispered. Malik moaned and leaned against the pale spirit.

"I've been better," he responded. Bakura wrapped his arms around the smaller male, stroking his hair soothingly.

"You want to go back to bed?" he asked. Malik nodded. Bakura wrapped one arm around his shoulders and lopped his other arm around his legs, lifting the boy up. Malik nestled his head against Bakura's chest, listening to his heartbeat as he was carried.

"We'll have to call Yami for more morning sickness medicine," he mumbled.

"Later," Bakura said, gently setting Malik back in the bed and covering him up. He leaned down and touched his lips to Malik's forehead. "Get some sleep."

Malik curled up on his side as Bakura crawled under the covers next to him. Bakura wrapped one arm around him and he scooted closer, so that his scarred back was pressed against Bakura's strong chest.

"Goodnight, Bakura," Malik murmured. Bakura tightened his grip ever so slightly.

"Goodnight, Malik," he whispered.

* * *

Malik grunted slightly as he lifted a basket of dirty clothes. With a small sigh, he headed to the laundry room in the basement. He had driven his motorcycle to the Motou's to pick up some more medicine - despite Bakura telling him that he shouldn't be driving that screaming metal death trap, especially when he was pregnant. The medicine had luckily worked, as Malik had managed to eat two helping of scrambled eggs at breakfast without it all coming back up, which was a huge plus from his perspective. He couldn't help but smile when he thought of the food nourishing his baby.

Malik paused to pick up a shirt that Bakura had thrown on the back of a chair. He started slightly when he felt two arms wind around his waist.

"What are you smiling for?" Bakura purred in his ear. Malik smiled.

"I haven't thrown up all day. The medicine's still working."

"Is that so?"

Malik squeaked as he was suddenly turned around in Bakura's arms and pressed up against the wall. Bakura smirked and pressed his lips to Malik's, slithering his tongue into the boy's mouth. Malik moaned softly, his eyes sliding shut. He dropped the laundry basket and wrapped his arms around Bakura's neck, sinking his hands into the spirit's hair. His own tongue started to fight with Bakura's, moving and twisting in a familiar dance.

After a few minutes, Bakura pulled away with a smirk. He bent down, picked up the laundry basket, and walked away. Malik stood in the same spot, momentarily confused. Blinking, he followed Bakura down into the laundry room, where the spirt was loading up the washing machine. Malik crossed his arms.

"Bakura," he said.

"Yeah?"

"What are you doing?"

"I believe it's called laundry."

"_Bakura_!" Malik grabbed Bakura's wrist. "We've been over this before! I'm _pregnant_, not _invalid_!" Bakura sighed, removing Malik's fingers from his wrist. He turned to face the Egyptian teen, taking both of Malik's hands in his own.

"I'm sorry, Malik. I'm trying. I've never had to deal with this before. I never even thought that I _would_ have to deal with something like this. What am I supposed to do?"

Malik was startled by Bakura's sincerity. It wasn't like the spirit to say things like that. Hell, it wasn't like Bakura to do chores voluntarily, either!

"_Things are changing,"_ Malik realized. "_But for the better or worse?"_

"Malik?" Bakura said. Malik looked up at Bakura and gave a slight smile.

"You can start," he said slowly. "By separating the darks and the lights."

* * *

**Malik is three weeks along.**

**Filler chapter is filler. I'm hoping to get the next chapter up within a couple of weeks. My goal is before July.**

**All reviews are appreciated!**


	6. Chapter 5

**AN: Finally got around to writing this...I told myself to get it up before July, and I am! (Yeah, June 30 counts as before July...) Yeah...Enjoy.**

* * *

Malik came up from the basement and glanced out the window.

"Oh, shoot," he said.

"What is it?" Bakura asked, coming up behind Malik and wrapping his arms around his waist. Malik pointed out the window, at the rain clouds that were gathering.

"I hung some clothes outside earlier to dry. They'll get soaked all over again in the rain. I have to go get them."

"You'll get sick," Bakura said. "It looks like it's going to start pouring any second." Bakura pushed his nose into Malik's hair, nuzzling the back of his neck. "Why don't we just stay inside?" he murmured. "We could go upstairs. Get in bed. Get _very_ close together..."

Malik sighed, turning his head to nuzzle Bakura's shoulder.

"I know, baby," he said. "But remember what Yami said. I don't want to take chances." Malik placed his hands on Bakura's and gently pulled them away from his waist. "I'll only be a second, Baku. It won't rain when I get out there. Don't worry."

Malik picked up the laundry basket and headed out the back door. As he walked to the clothesline, he couldn't help but picture a child playing in the backyard, running around, climbing the old oak tree that stood in the middle of the property, laughing, crying...

"Malik!" The Egyptian turned. Bakura was standing at the back door. "It's raining! Come back inside."

"It's not raining hard. Give me a minute," Malik replied, setting the laundry basket on the ground. He glanced down at the cold rain that was dimpling his tan skin before tipping his head back and closing his eyes as the water fell from the sky. The sound of soft footsteps let him know that Bakura had come up behind him.

"What are you doing?" the deep British baritone murmured in his ear. Malik smiled.

"Loving all the miracles we never bother to think about."

Bakura squinted up at the sky, pulling up his collar.

"I hardly consider the rain to be a miracle."

"See? That's what I mean." Bakura shook his head.

"Come back inside before this so-called 'miracle' makes you sick," he said. Malik laughed.

"A few minutes in the rain won't make me sick, Baku," he said. "I _like_ standing in the rain, and I've yet to catch a single sniffle from it."

"Oh, really?" Before Malik could even blink, he was suddenly flat on his back on the rain-soaked ground. Bakura leaned over him, smirking. Malik smiled and hooked his fingers around Bakura's collar, yanking him down for a passionate kiss. The heavens opened up above them and rain ran down their skin, soaking through their hair and clothes. The rain provided the perfect methods for cooling down, however, even for Bakura, who would always get hot and horny whenever he kissed Malik like this. Eventually the two had to part for air. Bakura stared down at Malik with half-lidded eyes.

"Gods, Malik," he said, leaning down to kiss the Egyptian boy's neck. Malik hummed and turned his head to the side, coming face-to-face with a small black and white Chihuahua. The dog licked Malik's nose and yipped, causing Bakura to lift his head. He snarled at the dog.

"Scram, Buster," he growled. The dog wagged his tail happily. "Go on, get!" Malik laughed.

"He's not afraid of you, Bakura," he said. "He's probably the only creature in the whole world that's not."

"One of these days I'm going to chop that thing up and bake it into a lasagne," Bakura muttered. "Otogi!" he shouted. "Keep your mutt off my property!"

The black-haired man who lived next door clapped his hands.

"Buster! Come here!"

The dog yipped and trotted back to his master, tail held high.

"Why don't you get that mutt a shock collar?" Bakura shouted over the noise of the rain.

"Why don't you two get a room?" Otogi shot back.

"You mean you're offering yours? Very well, if you insist."

"_Not_ funny," Otogi called. Malik shivered.

"Baku, I'm cold," he said, pushing lightly at Bakura's chest. "Get up."

Bakura stood up, extending a hand to Malik to help him up. Malik took it with a small smile and stood. Bakura wrapped one arm around Malik's shoulders, shielding him from the worst of the rain. Malik rubbed his arms.

"I'm going to go take a bath," he said to Bakura. "Could you take the clothes off the line for me?"

"What's the point? They're already soaked," Bakura muttered. Malik smiled and kissed him lightly.

"Thank you, Baku," he said, going inside. Rolling his eyes, Bakura picked up the laundry basket and walked over to the clothesline. He pulled articles of clothing off at random, dropping them carelessly into the basket.

"You know, if you fold them, they'll fit better," Otogi called.

"Screw that, it's too wet to think about folding!" Bakura shouted back. He pulled the last shirt off the line and picked up the basket. "Be sure to keep that little rat of yours out of my yard."

"He's not a rat!"

"He looks like one to me."

"Screw you, Bakura!"

"Oh, please! I'm not desperate! I get it enough, anyways!"

"Speaking of which, be sure to tell Malik that if he ever gets tired of you, my door is always open!"

"Yeah, right. In your dreams, maybe, but not likely!" Bakura opened the back door and nudged it open further with his knee. "Enjoy your sad, lonely relationship with your rat-dog thing."

Bakura slipped into the house and set the laundry basket on the floor. He straightened up and shook his head violently from side to side. Large drops of water flew from his thick white hair and splattered on the ground. He stripped off his soaking t-shirt and dropped it carelessly on top of the other sopping clothes in the basket. He kicked off his shoes and started to undo his pants, but paused when he heard the sound of running water coming from upstairs. Malik was getting ready for a bath.

With a slow smirk, Bakura started for the stairs.

* * *

Malik sank down into the hot water and shut off the faucet. He leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes. The hot water felt great after being outside in the rain. Not to mention it felt good on the stomach cramp that had started when Bakura had pinned him to the ground.

Malik smiled and placed one hand over his stomach.

"_I know that Bakura wants a boy,"_ he thought. _"And I'll be happy with either, as long as it's healthy, but still, I'd like a girl." _Malik rubbed his stomach gently.

"_Then again, it might even be twins. One of each. That'd be great."_

A knock on the door broke Malik's train of thought. The door opened and Bakura, shirtless, leaned against the doorframe.

"Mind some company?" he asked. Malik smiled at his lover.

"I'd love some," he said. Bakura smirked and stepped into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He slipped off his jeans and boxers. Malik sat up slightly, allowing Bakura to climb into the tub behind him. Malik leaned against Bakura's chest and closed his eyes. He let out a soft sigh of contentment as he felt Bakura's arms wrap around his midsection.

"Did you take the clothes off the line?" he asked.

"Of course I did. I'm not stupid."

"I was just checking, Bakura. Did you put them in the dryer?"

"...No. And I refuse to retract my previous statement."

Malik laughed, turning his head so that he could kiss the front of Bakura's shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. I can get it later." Malik snuggled closer to Bakura's chest. "Hey, Bakura?"

"Hmm?"

"I was thinking...wouldn't it be great if we had _twins_?"

Bakura was silent for a long time. Malik twisted around in his arms to look up at him. Bakura was staring at the wall, unblinking.

"No," he finally said. "No, Malik, it wouldn't be. I'm still trying to get used to the idea of having _one_ child. I don't need to be worrying about having two."

Malik turned back around and stared into the water.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. "I won't bring it up again."

"...Do _you_ want twins?"

"Well, it would make the son-or-daughter debate a lot easier."

"Hey." Bakura's voice was gentle again. He nuzzled the back of Malik's neck. "That's jus tfor fun. It doesn't matter to me which gender it is."

"Bakura, you want a boy. I know you do."

"Malik, I mean it. _I don't care_ whether it's a boy or a girl."

"...I get it."

Bakura tightened his grip around Malik's midesection. Things were not going good.

"Hey," he murmured again. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Didn't you?" Malik's voice was tight. He was obviously very upset.

"_Dammit,"_ Bakura thought. _"If I want to get laid, I'd better watch what I say."_

"Malik," he said, gently kissing the side of the boy's neck. "I just meant that I'll be happy with either a boy or a girl."

"Bakura, you don't like kids. I'm not stupid."

"I never said you were. And just because I don't like kids in general doesn't mean that _our_ child won't be different." Malik was silent. Bakura kissed his neck again. "Forgive me?" he asked. Malik sighed.

"I suppose I have to. It's not like I can go move in with my brother and sister," he said. He leaned back against Bakura's chest and tipped his head up to kiss the underside of the spirit's chin.

"We're going to have a girl, though," he murmured.

"Boy," Bakura whispered back, running his hands along Malik's toned stomach. _"He won't have this figure for too much longer. Damn parasitic brat!"_ he thought.

Malik laughed quietly.

"Tell you what, if it's a girl I get to name it. If it's a boy, you can name it. How's that?"

"Great," Bakura lied. Picking out a name was the last thing on his mind. Malik sighed, turning around and kissing Bakura lightly.

"Thank you, Bakura," he said. "I can't think of anyone I'd rather have a child with. You have no idea how grateful I am that you're staying with me." Bakura smirked.

"You could always try to show me," he murmured in a seductive tone. He kissed Malik roughly before moving to nip at his neck.

"Bakura...n-no..." Malik whispered.

"Shh..." Bakura pressed his face into the crook of Malik's neck, breathing in his scent. He bit down lightly, his hands wandering across the Egyptian's tan chest. He felt Malik's breath hitch slightly and he smirked to himself.

"_Malik may be too young to be a parent,"_ he thought. _"But he's the perfect age for those teenage hormones to kick in when I need them."_

He bit down harder as one of his hands traveled lower, submerging below the warm water to wrap around Malik's limp cock.

"Bakura, stop!" Malik shoved Bakura away angrily. "I _said_ no! You know what Yami said. It might hurt the baby."

"'His majesty' isn't even a real doctor," Bakura protested. "How does he know if it'll hurt the brat or not?"

"I don't want to take that chance, Bakura Akefia Touzokou!" Malik yelled. Bakura winced slightly. Malik only used his full name when he was really upset.

Malik climbed out of the tub and grabbed a towel. After wrapping it around his waist and tying it in place, he took a deep breath and turned back to Bakura.

"Look, Bakura. You are not the only person in this relationship who is missing out on sex because of this. And I know that it makes you happy when I submit to you, and I don't mind it because it's one of the few things I can do that makes you happy. But when I say no, I mean no. Right now, I have something that makes _me_ happy. And I don't want to do anything that might put it in danger."

"But we don't _know_ if it'll put it in danger! Yami even _said_ he didn't know!"

Malik glared at him, anger and hurt shining in his eyes.

"You're so _selfish_!" he yelled, storming out of the bathroom. A few minutes later, Bakura heard the bedroom door slam. He took a deep breath and sank under the water, staring up at the ceiling. He stayed there for a while, counting the air bubbles that drifted up to the surface. He stayed under for much longer than was comfortable before he came back up, taking slow, deep breaths. He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.

"_I'm an idiot,"_ he thought. "_Yami told us a week ago that sex could hurt the brat. Of course Malik's not going to want to do anything!"_

"_Why am I only thinking about sex?" _his train of thought continued. _"I don't like kids, so it doesn't matter to me if anything happens to the kid, but it's really important to Malik. And since Malik's important to me, shouldn't a kid be important, too?"_

"_Would having a child really be all that bad? Sure, it'll be loud and it'll cost a ton of money to put it through college and to feed it, but I guess it would be useful to have an actual blood lineage in the world. Besides," _he thought with a smirk. "_Once the kid is old enough, I can train him. It'd be handy to have an apprentice."_

Bakura stood up with a sigh and stepped out of the tub. As the water drained, he dried himself off and tugged his pants back on.

"One way or another, this kid is going to be born," he told himself. "The sooner I get used to that idea, the easier this whole thing is going to be. Malik expects me to man up and be a father. I can't let him down. I'd better apologize...but first I should put on a shirt so he won't think I'm trying to pull anything."

With a sigh, he opened the bathroom door and headed down to the basement. He pulled a shirt out of the bin next to the dryer and tugged it over his head. He carefully smoothed out the wrinkles and went back upstairs.

He placed on hand on the doorknob of his bedroom door, hesitated, and removed it, instead rapping his knuckles against the door.

"Malik?" he said, slowly pushing open the door. "You alright?"

Malik, lying on their bed with his back facing the door, didn't respond. Bakura stepped into the room and closed the door. He made his way over to the bed. Gently, he placed one hand on Malik's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I wasn't thinking." Malik offered no response. Bakura walked over to his own side of the bed and lay down, facing Malik. The violet-eyed teen stared at him, tears silently tracking down his tan cheeks. Bakura gently brushed his fingertips against Malik's face, wiping his tears away.

"Why are you crying?" he murmured.

"...I dunno," Malik whispered, snuggling against Bakura's chest and gripping the front of the pale spirit's shirt. Bakura wrapped his arms around the crying Egyptian. He rubbed Malik's back gently, feeling the raised and uneven skin of his scars through the loose, grey t-shirt that Malik occasionally wore to bed. Malik buried his face in Bakura's chest, sniffling. Bakura began speaking in a gentle, quiet tone.

"Malik, I've done some thinking," he began. Malik looked up at him. "And I've decided that...perhaps...having a child won't be as bad as I believed it would be. It's not going to be easy, especially for someone like me, but I'm going to try to suppress my sexual cravings as long as you're pregnant and suppress my killing urges around the child and just do my best to be a good father."

Malik smiled so happily that Bakura felt his heart lurch. The boy still had tears streaming down his face, but they were tears of pure joy now.

"Really?" he whispered. Bakura nodded.

"It's not my favorite idea, but I'll do it for you," he said. Malik's smile faltered slightly, but didn't fade from his face.

"Thank you, Bakura," he said. He placed one hand against his still-flat stomach. "I'm sure our child is just as grateful as I am."

Thunder rumbled in the distance. Malik flinched and snuggled closer to Bakura's chest. Bakura stroked Malik's slightly damp hair.

"I'm right here," he murmured. "I'll always be here. I promise."

* * *

**Malik is still three weeks along.**

**Been wanting to write that bathtub scene FOR-EV-ER! Finally got to it! Yes!**

**Yeah, I got it up before July, technically, but it's still close enough to July that I'm not satisfied. Now that it's summer vacation, I'm hoping to have much more time to write.**

**Review? =)**


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: Yeah, yeah, long wait, apologies, blah, blah, blah. My late updates are getting old, methinks.**

* * *

"It sounds to me that Malik experienced his first mood swing," Yami said.

"A mood swing?" Bakura shifted the phone slightly against his ear. How he hated these infernal devices. He saw no point whatsoever in crushing one's ear just to be able to talk to someone. Malik, on the other hand, seemed to _love_ the evil device, spending hours on end each day calling his friends or sister.

"Yes, tomb robber, a mood swing. You know, the thing that comes with a bizarre craving for chocolate when a woman is PMSing? I probably should have warned you, Malik's going to be having mood swings in addition to other symptoms that come along with a pregnancy. I think of it as a male's punishment for knocking-up the female. Or, in this case, Malik."

"So, he's pretty much going to be whining even more than he already does for the next nine months?"

"Well, not all the time. But probably most of the time."

"Well, that's just fucking fantas-"

"Bakura!"

Bakura sighed.

"I'll be right back. I'm being screamed at," he said. He set the phone down and walked up to the bedroom.

"What do you need, Malik?" he asked, leaning against the doorframe. Malik, lying on his stomach, peeked out from under the pillow he was holding over his head.

"Shut the curtains," he moaned pitifully. "It's too bright."

Bakura sighed, making his way over to the window and lowering the blinds.

"You know," he said, half to himself. "You were a lot closer to the window than I was. You probably could've done this yourself." He tugged the curtains shut over the blinds and turned around just in time for a pillow to connect with his face. He blinked, not expecting it.

"Um, okay, what did I say?" he asked, picking up the pillow and placing it back on the bed. Malik glared at him, apparently very pissed off for some reason.

"Do _not_ even _start _with me, Bakura!" he said. "I currently have the _worst_ fucking headache of all time and a stomach cramp that feels like someone jabbed a sword through my gut."

Bakura gave a somewhat sympathetic smile. Malik may have been trying to look threatening, but since he was only wearing a pair of boxers and one of Bakura's t-shirts, and with his hair as disheveled as it was, he just looked like an upset child who'd just had a good lay.

"I'm sorry, baby," he said, kissing Malik's forehead soothingly. "Do you want me to bring you up some aspirin, or Tylenol or something?"

"No!" Malik cried, whacking Bakura with the pillow again. Bakura gave him a look that said, _Why?_

"_What_ did I say now?" he asked, feeling the last of his patience beginning to trickle away.

"I _can't_ take an aspirin because it's a blood thinner, and it could hurt the baby, Bakura!" Malik said, putting one hand against his stomach.

"Then why don't you try something else?" Bakura asked, preparing to block if Malik tried to hit him with the pillow again.

"Because!" Malik yelled. His voice dropped down to a soft whisper. "How am I supposed to know what's good and what's bad for our baby?"

Bakura's expression softened. He leaned forward and kissed Malik gently.

"Why don't you just relax for right now? I'll bring you something to drink when I finish talking to Yami."

Malik settled down under the blankets, peering up at Bakura with a confused expression.

"Yami called?"

"Well, to be accurate, I called him," Bakura admitted.

"Why?"

"Because..." Bakura sighed. "If I want to be a good father to our child, then, in all honesty, I need all the help I can get."

Malik smiled up at his lover.

"You're going to be just fine, Baku," he said. "I just know it."

Bakura snorted and stood up.

"Here's hoping, anyway," he said. "Get some rest. I'll bring you up some tea in a few minutes, okay?"

"Okay." Bakura kissed Malik's forehead and went back downstairs. Malik watched him leave the room before curling up into a tight ball, trying to ignore the pounding of his head and the sharp pain from his stomach. He was happy to be having a baby, and even happier that it was with Bakura, but he just wished that a pregnancy didn't involve so much pain and discomfort. Yami had told him what to expect, but it was a huge understatement from what Malik was currently experiencing. He knew that the pain just meant that the baby was growing, developing on a healthy schedule, but it certainly didn't mean he enjoyed it. He peeked irritably at his stomach.

"Give me a break, will you?" he muttered. "I'm sacrificing nine months of my personal time for you to grow into a healthy, perfect child. I'd think you could stand to be a bit more cooperative."

Despite himself, Malik had to smile. He may be in pain, but he was happy. The last time he was this happy had been when he and Bakura had bought their own house.

"Malik?" Bakura came into the bedroom, carrying a steaming mug. "Here's your tea."

Malik smiled and took the cup.

"Thanks, Baku," he said. He blew gently on the steaming liquid and sipped at it. Bakura sat down on the edge of the bed.

"So," he said. "Our son's been giving you trouble?"

"Yeah," Malik said. "Our daughter is going to be quite the handful when she arrives." Bakura's lips twitched up into a half-smile.

"Don't worry, I'll be sure to keep our son under control."

"I don't know. I get the feeling that our daughter won't be so easy to keep on a short leash." Smirking, Malik sipped his tea again.

"Son."

"Daughter."

"Son."

"Daughter."

"Son."

"I still say it'd be easier if we just had twins, don't you think?" Malik teased.

"We are _not_ having twins," Bakura replied firmly. "It's going to be hard enough training one kid, forget about two." Malik raised one eyebrow.

"And who exactly told you that you'd be 'training' our child?" he asked. Bakura sighed.

"Malik, you can't expect me to carry on the legacy of the thief king by myself. I need an apprentice to carry on the title, preferably a firstborn, blood-related child. My father was the thief king before I was, so he trained me. What can I say? Thievery runs in the family."

"Excuse me for having mixed feelings about you teaching our child to be a criminal," Malik remarked sarcastically, finishing his tea and setting the mug on his bedside table. Bakura held his hands up in mock self-defense.

"Okay, okay, I get where you're coming from. Just think about it, okay? The world needs a thief king."

"Maybe it did 3000 years ago, but it doesn't today!"

Malik yawned. "I need to take a nap. Maybe my tummy won't hurt as much when I wake up." Bakura smiled slightly.

"Okay," he said. He leaned forward and kissed Malik. "Let me n if you need anything, okay?" Malik nodded and lay down. Bakura pulled the covers over him.

"Sleep tight, Malik," he said. Malik smiled at him.

"Why don't you take a nap with me, Bakura?" he asked. Bakura chuckled.

"As much as I'd love to sleep with you - and yes, the innuendo _was _intended." Malik glared as Bakura continued. "I can't. Mariku and I have made plans for the day."

"Oh, really? I take it he's forgiven you for knocking me up, then?"

"Either that or he's forgotten about it. It is _Mariku_ we're talking about here." Malik rolled his eyes.

"So, what sort of hell are you two going to raise today, while you leave poor, pregnant ma all alone to fend for myself?" Bakura started to laugh.

"Oh, Malik," he said. "You and I both know that - pregnant or not - you can take care of yourself just fine."

Malik pouted. "Just because I can, it doesn't mean I want to, Baku," he said.

"Malik, you know I'd stay here if it was anyone but Mariku. He'd wonder why I canceled, I'd have to tell him, and then he'd get pissed and try to kill me all over again." The spirit pulled the blankets up to Malik's chin. "Just get some sleep. I'll be back when you wake up, okay?" Malik sighed.

"Oh, alright, Bakura," he muttered. "Leave an old lady in the path of an oncoming 18-wheeler for me, 'kay?" Bakura smiled fondly down at the boy.

"Deal," he said, bending down to kiss Malik's forehead. "I'll be home by the time you wake up. If you need anything, just call me and I'll come straight home."

**[Malik is three weeks along]**

* * *

**One week later...**

"Bakura, I think we need to build a fence."

The pale spirit glanced at his young lover, raising one eyebrow in a show of slight confusion.

"You lost me," he said. Malik laughed and placed one hand on his stomach.

"I just think it would be safer for our child if we built a fence around our property." Bakura rolled his eyes and took a drag on his cigarette.

"Otogi may be a closet perv, but he's not a pedophile. And our other neighbors don't care what happens over here as long as we don't make too much noise. I'm sure that the kid will be plenty safe in our backyard."

"But Bakura, what if she were to wander off? It could take us _days _to find her," Malik pointed out. "I mean, if she was playing outside, and we had to go inside for something, it would be all to easy for her to wander into another yard, and then another yard, and by the time we got back outside, she could be miles away." Bakura stared at Malik, bewildered. He dropped his cigarette onto the floor and stepped on it, putting it out.

"Just how long have you been thinking about this?" he asked.

"Since last week. Bakura, I honestly just feel that our child would be so much safer if we put in a fence. It would make me feel better about her playing outside." Bakura sighed.

"Alright. If it means so much to you, I'll look into getting a fence built for our son's safety." Malik smiled, leaning up to kiss Bakura's cheek.

"Thanks, Baku," he said. The Egyptian looked down, suddenly uncomfortable his next request wouldn't be as easily accepted.

"There's um, one more thing, Bakura."

"What is it now?" Bakura pulled out another cigarette and lit it.

"Um...I'd like you to stop smoking."

"Ha ha. _No._ Bakura took a long drag on the small white tube of nicotine and cancer. "That isn't happening."

"Bakura, please at least try to. You know how dangerous secondhand smoke can be, especially for young children."

"Malik, these things keep me calm. If I wasn't smoking right now, I'd be pounding your ass through the floor, whether I had your consent or not."

"You could find something else! You could chew gum, or meditate, or-"

"No." Bakura looked at his young lover. "Malik, I understand your concern, but I'm not going to quit. Not just yet, anyway. In a few months, when the baby's born, I _might_ try to. But I won't just yet. They're the only things keeping me from fucking you senseless every half-hour and potentially harming the future thief king."

"I wouldn't let you fuck me senseless anyway," Malik said. "And who says she won't be a thief _queen_?"

"Impossible. It has always been a thief king. A thief queen is unthinkable."

"That's a rather sexist attitude."

"What can I say? It's the tradition. That's the way it's always been and the way it always has to be."

"In that case, I _really_ hope it's a girl." Malik looked at Bakura seriously. "I'm still not comfortable with the idea of you teaching our child that stealing is perfectly okay."

"Doesn't stop you from using stuff that I steal for you." Bakura gestured with his cigarette to the gold bracelet that Malik was wearing. Malik glared at him.

"You know what I mean, Bakura. Besides, what if our child - boy or girl - doesn't _want_ to be a thief? What will you do then?" Bakura sighed.

"Malik, no one ever _wants_ to be a thief. It's not a very honorable occupation, you may get the blood of more than one person on your hands, and quite often, there is very little personal fulfillment in stealing other people's hard-earned riches. But there must always be a thief king to ensure that those who were slaughtered in the village of Kul Elna are never forgotten."

Malik wrapped his arms around Bakura. The spirit's past was a touchy subject, so if he brought it up in a conversation, it usually meant that he was dead serious.

"So you're still going to train our child even if he or she rejects your side of the family's lifestyle?" he asked.

"Yes, Malik, I am. They'll eventually get used to it and sooner or later they'll accept it as the norm and begin to enjoy it, like I did." Malik sighed.

"I guess there's no changing your mind, then," he said. Bakura put one arm around Malik's shoulders and kissed the top of his head.

"You'll get used to the idea," the spirit said, inhaling another cloud of toxins from his cigarette. Malik covered his nose and mouth as Bakura exhaled.

"Bakura, if you have to smoke, at least go outside to do it! I don't want to hurt the baby by accidently inhaling some of that stuff."

"It's raining outside," Bakura said. "I don't want to get wet."

Malik glared at him and stood up.

"Then I'm going to go upstairs and take a nap," he said. "Don't you dare follow until you've changed your clothes, washed your hair, and brushed your teeth three times." With that, Malik turned and stormed up the stairs. Bakura watched him go, putting out his cigarette.

"_Damn mood swings_," he thought. "_He's never complained about me smoking before. But I suppose it's not his fault. It's that goddamn kid's fault. Can't Malik understand that our lives would be so much easier if he just got rid of it?"_

Bakura snorted. Like that would ever happen. Malik was hell-bent on keeping his child, no matter how difficult it would be.

"_Just think of Kul Elna, Bakura," _the spirit thought. _"Each generation must have a thief king, and you have been the one for three thousand years too long. It's time to pass the torch onto someone of your own flesh and blood._"

Bakura stood up and stretched. He decided to go take a shower before making himself some dinner. But first, he _really_ needed another cigarette.

* * *

**Malik is currently one month along.**

**The next chapter will be a slight timeskip. I'm hoping to get the next chapter up a lot sooner than this one. Luckily, I'm leaving for vacation in a few days, so I'll have plenty of time to write during the car ride.**

**On another note, this is kind of creepy. Before I posted this chapter I had 6 chapters and 66 reviews. It makes me a little nervous.**

**Reviews will make me happy. :3**


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: I really have to stop looking at random websites. I wanted to write this, like, two weeks ago, but I get so distracted and before I know it, it's three days before school starts and I haven't updated! Apologies all around...**

* * *

Malik stood in front of a full-length mirror with his shirt off, turning first to the right, then to the left, studying himself.

"Bakura, be honest with me," he said, turning to the white-haired man leaning against the doorframe. "Do I look fat?" Bakura rolled his eyes.

"You look fine, babe," he said, trying not to look at the all-too-noticeable bump coming from Malik's stomach.

"I don't _want_ to look 'fine', Bakura!" Malik said. "I want to look _good_!" Bakura stared at his young lover out of the corner of his eye.

"Malik, you look pretty much the same as you did two months ago, only now the little parasite is starting to show a little. Don't freak out."

"First of all, she is not a parasite. Second, don't you dare go blaming this one her when _you're _the one who knocked me up in the first place!" Malik scolded, putting his hands on his hips. Bakura held up his hands in mocking self-defense.

"I'm kidding, babe. After three months I think I've finally gotten used to the idea of having a kid. Maybe."

"Well, that's one problem solved, I guess," Malik said, flopping down onto the bed. "I'm still fat, and I'm gonna keep getting fatter! It sucks!" he whined. Bakura sighed and sat down next to Malik, placing one hand on the small bump protruding from Malik's stomach.

"Malik," he said, gently rubbing the Egyptian's stomach in a circular motion. "You don't look 'good'." Malik glared at him and opened his mouth to protest, but Bakura cut him off.

"You look _great_," he said, bending down and kissing Malik's forehead. Malik blinked and smiled up at him. Bakura chuckled and continued rubbing Malik's stomach. Malik closed his eyes in contentedness.

"The baby likes that," he said.

"You mean you like it," Bakura teased.

"Well, yes, but..." Malik took Bakura's hand and pressed it against the small bump. After a few moments, Bakura felt a small nudge against his palm.

"The baby likes it, too," Malik finished with a smile. Smirking, Bakura bent down and pressed his lips to Malik's stomach. The baby kicked again. Malik laughed.

"She likes you," he said.

"Doesn't it hurt when he does that?" Bakura asked, genuinely curious. Malik shook his head.

"Nah. It's a little uncomfortable, but it doesn't hurt. What hurts is my pride," he said with a pout.

"Your pride?" Bakura said, raising one eyebrow.

"Yes, my pride! Just look how fat I am at three months and imagine how fat I'll be at nine!"

"Malik, it's not fat. It's a baby bump," Bakura said as the phone rang. "It'll go away when the baby is born, and then the worst you'll get from it is stretch mariks, and those are curable."

"Answer the phone," Malik said. "I'm too depressed thinking about effin' _stretch marks_ - which hadn't even crossed my mind until just now, thank you very much - to talk to anyone."

"Stretch marks are not the end of the world, babe," Bakura said, grabbing the phone and answering it. "Hello?"

"Bakura?" The spirit bit back a groan and rolled his eyes when he realized who was calling.

"No, it's bloody Queen Elizabeth II. Who the bloody hell else would it be?" Malik shot him a confused look. Bakura covered up the mouth piece. "It's your bloody sister," he hissed. Malik sighed and pulled a pillow over his face.

"Tell her I'm taking a shower," he said.

"Bakura, I would like to talk to Malik," Isis said, impatience obvious in her voice.

"He's taking a shower. Well, it's been lovely chatting with you, Isis, but I'm afraid I must-"

"Since he's unavailable, would you do something useful for once in your life and take a message?"

"I'll take one, but it doesn't mean I'll pass it on." Bakura sighed. "Go ahead."

"Rishid and I want Malik to come visit. Today."

Bakura immediately felt panic set in, but forced himself to keep his voice steady.

"Today isn't a good time, I'm sorry to say. Maybe he could pencil you in for, say..." Bakura did a hurried count in his head. "Seven months from today?"

"You are not being funny, Bakura," Isis said.

"Whoever said I was trying to be funny?"

"Bakura, I'm sure that whatever plans you have made with my brother can wait until tomorrow or some other day. If Malik won't come visit us, we will come visit him."

Bakura mumbled a curse under his breath. It was no good trying to talk Isis out of it. She wanted to see her little brother, and she was going to see her little brother no matter what.

"All right, all right, fine! Since you're being so difficult, we'll be over in an hour." Bakura hung up the phone before Isis could say that _he_ wasn't invited, thank you very much. He knew that if Malik went alone, it would only be a matter of time before the big secret was revealed.

"We'll be over _where_ in an hour?" Malik asked.

"Your sister wants you to visit. She says if you don't she'll come over here and I know you don't want that." Malik's eyes widened and he jerked up into a sitting position.

"Bakura!" he cried. "We _can't_ go see my brother and sister! It'll be a little hard to hide..._this_," he gestured to the bump on his stomach "from them, especially Isis!"

"I know that," Bakura said, standing up and heading over to the closet. "Unfortunately for me, your sister is very stubborn. No doubt, it's where you get it from."

"Hey!" Malik cried indignantly. "I'm not stubborn!"

His back to Malik, Bakura rolled his eyes. "_Malik must be having another mood swing,"_ he thought.

"I was kidding, hon. Anyways, here." Bakura tossed a blue-and-white striped t-shirt at Malik. "Wear one of my shirts. I'm bigger than you, so hopefully it'll be baggy enough to disguise the baby bump. You should probably wear some of my pants too, to be on the safe side. Not the leather pants, of course, I'll be wearing those, but of pair of my jeans should work just fine."

"You don't think they'll notice?"

"They won't. And if they do, they'll probably just assume you're gaining a little weight - which, technically, you are."

"Thanks for reminding me," Malik grumbled, tugging on the shirt. He stood and walked over to the mirror. Bakura handed him a pair of jeans. Malik slipped off his sweatpants and pulled them on. After they had been buttoned and zipped, he looked in the mirror. The outfit concealed the bump, but just barely. Unless someone was looking for it, they wouldn't even know it was there.

Bakura walked up behind Malik and wrapped his arms around the Egyptian's waist.

"It'll do for now," he murmured. "At least for the amount of time we're going to be there."

"They'll kill us if they notice," Malik said. Bakura kissed Malik's neck gently.

"They won't notice," he promised. "It'll be fine. We should get going."

"Okay," Malik agreed. He reached for his motorcycle keys, but Bakura snatched them up first. Malik shot him a look as the spirit pocketed the keys.

"_I'll_ be the one driving, Malik," Bakura said. "You shouldn't even be _riding_ that thing when you're pregnant. You can forget about driving it." Malik pouted.

"Come on, 'Kura, let me drive," he pleaded. "I promise I'll be careful."

"No," Bakura said. "Sorry, but either I'm driving, or we're walking."

Malik folded his arms.

"Fine. But you owe me." Bakura smirked at him.

"Hey, you're having my child. Isn't that enough for you?"

"Says the man who didn't even _want_ it at first," Malik shot back, heading downstairs. Bakura followed, rolling his eyes.

"I never said I didn't want it," he said. "_Out loud," _he added silently. "I recall saying I wasn't sure how I felt about it."

"Which was your way of saying you didn't want it," Malik said.

Bakura grabbed Malik's arm and turned him around, tipping up the boy's chin.

"Malik," he said. "That was then. This is now." Bakura kissed Malik's forehead before dropping down to his knees. He gently pushed up Malik's t-shirt and pressed his lips against the boys stomach. He pressed his forehead to the small bump, unable to keep from smiling as he felt the baby kick against his temple.

"He'll be perfect," he murmured.

"She," Malik whispered back. Bakura pulled himself back to his feet. He wrapped his arms around Malik's waist and kissed him.

"I love you," Malik whispered around Bakura's mouth. Bakura pulled away.

"We'd better head out. You know your sister. If we're thirty seconds late, she'll kill us." Bakura pulled open the front door and stepped aside, allowing Malik te exit first.

"I still don't trust this thing," the spirit said as the couple headed over to Malik's motorcycle. "I never have."

"Well, I like it!" Malik shot back. "And it's _my _method of transportation, anyway, not yours!"

Bakura laughed at Malik's childish argument. He grabbed the helmet off of the handlebars and turned to Malik, placing it on his head and strapping it in place. Malik smiled and climbed onto the bike behind Bakura, wrapping his arms around the spirit's midsection.

"You two ready back there?" Bakura asked. Malik nestled his head in between Bakura's shoulder blades.

"Ready," he said. "Just don't go too fast."

"That's what I tell you every time you drive this things, and you've never listened," Bakura said, turning on the motorcycle.

"Well, I'm with child now, Bakura. We have to be careful."

"I know, babe, no need to remind me." Bakura turned his head and winked at Malik. "I'll be careful, okay?"

"Okay." Malik tightened his grip around Bakura's midsection and prayed that this visit would be uneventful.

* * *

Isis and Rishid must have been watching for them, because no sooner had Malik climbed off the bike than he was practically tackled by his sister.

"Oh, Malik, I've missed you so much!" Malik hugged her back just as tightly.

"I missed you, too, sister," he said. Isis held his shoulders and studied his face.

"Why haven't you come to visit us, Malik?" she asked. Malik felt his face heat up.

"Um...I've been busy," he muttered.

"Not to worry. I've been taking good care of him," Bakura interrupted, draping one arm across Malik's shoulder. Isis frowned at Bakura and opened her mouth to sat something, but Rishid spoke before she could.

"Why don't we go inside and talk there?" he suggested. Malik shot his adoptive brother a thankful look as they headed into the house.

For the next few hours, Malik did his best to make polite conversation with his siblings, while Bakura did his best to politely ignore the polite conversation. Until...

"So, Malik, tell me. Exactly how have you two been doing?"

"Um..." Bakura saw Malik glance at him out of the corner of his eye. "Well..." Malik's hands went to the hem of his shirt and Bakura immediately knew what he was thinking. A few more seconds and the secret would be blown and Bakura would have two very angry siblings on his hands. Thinking fast, he blurted out the first thing that came to his mind.

"We're adopting a child."

Isis and Rishid looked stunned. Malik nodded vigorously.

"Yes, we're adopting a child. We just weren't sure how to tell you."

"Malik," Isis said. "You're still a teenager. How do you expect to raise a child with..._that_?" she asked, gesturing to Bakura, who growled at her.

"Isis, Bakura and I love each other," Malik said. "We talked about it and it's something that we both want. I know what I'm doing, sis."

"Malik, where did you even _find_ an adoption agency that would let a couple of out-of-work teenagers adopt a child?"

"Um...a friend of Ryou's father owns an agency and Bakura used his fake id to convince them that we were old enough."

Rishid stood up.

"Malik, may I speak to you in private?" he asked. Nodding, Malik stood up and followed his brother into the kitchen. Rishid closed the door and turned to Malik.

"We need to discuss something," he said. Malik sighed.

"Rishid, I can't move back in with you and Isis. I'm old enough to make my own decisions."

"It isn't about that," Rishid interrupted. "Malik, I know you're happy living with Bakura, and I know that you care about him a lot. But...I'm concerned."

"Concerned about _what_, exactly?" Malik asked, immediately defensive.

"I'm just a little worried that you may be rushing into things a bit. Having a child-" Was it Malik's imagination, or did Rishid glance at his stomach for a fraction of a second? "-is a big responsibility. I just don't know if you two are prepared emotionally for it."

"What do you mean? Are you saying you don't think Bakura cares about ,e?"

"All I'm saying is that maybe the two of you should wait until you're older and more responsible before you start thinking about children."

Malik clenched his hand into a fist, fighting the urge to press it protectively against his stomach.

"Bakura loves me. I know he does."

"Has he ever told you?"

"He doesn't need to!" Malik protested. It was true that Bakura had never actually said those three words out loud, but his actions were more than enough proof for Malik. He would steal things for Malik just because he thought they would make the Egyptian happy. He'd go out of his way to do things for Malik just to get him to smile. If actions truly spoke louder than words, then Bakura's actions were screaming at the tops of their lungs.

"I don't need Bakura to _tell_ me he loves me," Malik murmured, more to himself than to Rishid. "He _shows_ me he does."

* * *

Malik barely said a word for the rest of the day. When he and Bakura finally arrived home, the only thing he said was, "It's late. We should go to bed."

Bakura knew something was wrong. Once they were in bed, he leaned up on one elbow and looked at Malik.

"Malik, are you okay?" he asked. There was a long silence.

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not." Bakura placed one hand on Malik's shoulder, turning him to face the spirit. "Come on. Talk to me. What's wrong?"

Malik closed his eyes and pushed himself up on one elbow.

"It's just...Rishid said some things to me...it confused me a little, okay?"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, I just...I don't know."

Bakura ran one hand through Malik's hair.

"Don't worry about it, okay? I'm right here."

Malik nodded.

"I know, Bakura," he said. Bakura leaned forward and kissed Malik gently. The Egyptian reached up and cupped Bakura's face with one hand. As they parted, Malik whispered something that Bakura had been wanting to hear for three months;

"I need you inside me."

"We can't," Bakura forced himself to say.

"Yes we can."

"Malik, you've been on my case about this ever since Yami told us we shouldn't have sex. We can't."

"Please." The word was so soft, so unexpected, that Bakura couldn't respond at first.

"Malik-"

"Please. Just...let me feel something." With that, Bakura couldn't help himself. He kissed Malik, softly, but demanding. Malik opened his mouth and allowed Bakura to explore, shifting so that he was lying on his back, Bakura leaning over him on his hands and knees.

"We shouldn't," the spirit mumbled half-heartedly, but the harsh desire in his eyes betrayed him. Malik wrapped his arms around Bakura's neck, pulling him down for a kiss.

"But we will."

"Exactly."

Malik took one of Bakura's hands and laced their fingers together.

"Be gentle," he whispered, pressing their joined hands against his stomach. Bakura nodded.

"I know."

Bakura pulled his hand from Malik's grasp and pulled both of their shirts off. He moved down and pressed his lips against Malik's stomach.

"Hold onto something in there. It's gonna get a little bumpy," he murmured. Malik smiled. He pulled Bakura's face up and kissed him.

"That baby likes it when you talk to her," he murmured. Bakura smirked.

"Anyone would find it an honor for the king of thieves to address them," he replied. Malik laughed.

"You're full of it, 'Kura," he said.

"_You're_ going to be full of _me_ in about ten seconds, Malik."

Those words sent a chill down Malik's spine. He groaned and tilted his head back as Bakura took one of his nipples between his teeth.

"Ra dammit...n-not so rough...ngh..."

Bakura smirked and released the small nub, moving over to the other one.

"You'll have to get used to this," he pointed out. "When the kid comes-"

"I am _not_ breast-feeding," Malik groaned. "I don't care if it's possible or not. I'm not doing it."

"Oh?" Bakura paused, sucking hard on Malik's nipple. "And why's that?"

"Because - ahhh - because I don't...don't want to."

"Uh-huh." Bakura licked up Malik's neck. "You're just afraid you'd get aroused every time you started feeding the brat because you're so used to me doing this."

Malik opened his mouth to protest, but Bakura shoved his tongue into the waiting cavern before he could say anything. He wrapped his hands around Malik's hips and jerked them upwards, both men moaning as their clothed erections met. Malik reached down and started tugging at Bakura's pants, trying to pull them off without breaking their lip-lock. Chuckling into Malik's mouth, Bakura helped him tug off both of their pants and boxers.

Without warning, he slammed their hips together. Malik let out a strangled moan and fumbled to open the drawer on his bedside table. Locating the small bottle of lubricant, he passed it to Bakura. The spirit sat up and dipped his fingers into the liquid. He inserted them one by one until Malik nodded, indicating he was ready. Bakura coated his member with lube and positioned himself. Before he pushed in, he looked at Malik.

"Where are the Rod and Ring?" Malik let out a short laugh.

"You're joking, right?" Bakura raised one eyebrow, indicating, no, he was _not_ joking, thank-you-very-much. Malik rolled his eyes.

"They're in a box at the back of the closet. Happy?"

"Yes, I am happy," Bakura said, pushing himself into Malik's body. The Egyptian gasped and tipped his head back as one of Bakura's oh-so-skilled hands met his erection. "You're happy, too."

Malik moaned, wrapping his legs around Bakura's waist.

"Bakura, please...take me..."

"Are you positive about this?"

"For Ra's sake, YES, I am! Stop spoiling the damn mood already!"

Bakura smiled, leaning down and kissing Malik.

"Sorry, babe," he said, pulling out slightly. "Is this better?" He rammed back into Malik, earning a moan from the blonde. Malik gripped the sheets as Bakura continued moving in and out, hitting that one spot inside him every single time.

Before Malik knew it, he was curled up next to Bakura, snuggling in the afterglow. Bakura kissed the top of Malik's head, reaching into the drawer on his nightstand. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and stuck one in his mouth. Malik groaned.

"Bakura, please don't do that now. You can do it tomorrow. Outside. I don't want to risk hurting the baby by inhaling all that smoke."

Bakura sighed, putting the cigarette back into the small box and dropping the pack inside the drawer.

"Fine. I'll save it for tomorrow." Malik smiled and snuggled closer to Bakura.

"I love you," he murmured. He held his breath, waiting for Bakura's response. After a short silence, Bakura tightened his grip on Malik.

"You're the most important person in the world to me," he said.

Malik smiled slightly, closing his eyes and allowing himself to doze. It wasn't exactly the response he had been hoping to hear, but it was the closest Bakura had ever come to telling Malik he loved him. It wasn't what the Egyptian wanted, but it was enough.

* * *

**Ugh. I don't want school to start. T^T My sleeping schedule is beyond messed up. I'm used to going to bed at 2 am and waking up at noon. Now I have to go to bed at 9 and wake up at quarter to 6...uuuugggghhhh...**

**Review? :3**


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: I know, another late update. I need to stop procrastinating on everything. I have an English essay I'm supposed to be typing up right now, but instead I'm doing this. What priorities?**

* * *

Bakura woke up before Malik did the next morning. The boy was curled up against him, with one arm wrapped around Bakura's chest. He showed no signs of moving for quite some time. In the back of his mind, Bakura knew that he should call Yami, which Malik would make him do as soon as he woke up, anyway, but he didn't want to disturb the sleeping boy. A faint trace of a smile crossed his face as he watched Malik sleeping . The Egyptian's brow was furrowed, as if he was thinking hard about something in his sleep.

Bakura smiled. In his sleep, Malik looked so innocent, even younger than he already was. The spirit's smile faded as he looked down at the blankets that covered Malik's stomach. He still had mixed feelings about the little..._parasite _was the only word to describe what was currently growing inside of his lover. He was happy to have an heir, of course, but didn't quite want an actual child that would require to be fed, changed, and held.

Bakura gently placed one hand on the blankets covering Malik's stomach. He could picture the tiny being shifting around, not willing to leave the warmth of its cocoon just yet. In spite of himself, he felt a surge of protectiveness towards the fetus. This was _his._ Somehow, he had managed to help create a life that would belong to him. Glancing at Malik to make sure he was still asleep, he moved down until he was level with the Egyptian's stomach.

"You may be a mistake," he whispered. "But you are my child." He placed one hand on the small bump. "I will always protect you." He felt the baby kick against his palm, reacting to his voice. He smiled and sat back up as Malik stirred. The teen opened his lavender eyes, blinking sleepily. Bakura smiled at him.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty," he said, brushing a lock of light blond hair off of Malik's face. His lover groaned, pulling the blanket over his head.

"It's morning. Where, exactly, is the good in that?" he asked, his voice slightly muffled by the blanket. Bakura laughed, pulling him out from under the blankets and holding him gently against his chest.

"Get used to waking up early now," he said. "Our son will be waking us both up twice as early."

Malik mumbled something and snuggled against the spirit's pale chest.

"Did you call Yami yet?" he asked. Bakura rubbed Malik's back and sighed.

"Not yet," he admitted. Malik cracked open one eye and glared at Bakura.

"Then pick up the goddamn phone and call him! It's for our child!" Bakura rolled his eyes.

"Fine, fine," he muttered, reaching over to the small stand on Malik's side of the bed and grabbing the phone.

"Don't even _try_ to act like you don't care. I heard you talking to our daughter just now. You and I both know that you care about her."

"There is a very fine line between caring and a desire to protect, Malik."

"You're so _stubborn_! Why would you want to protect someone if you didn't care about them?" Malik hit Bakura in the chest with his fist. Bakura grunted and caught Malik by the wrist.

"Keep _that_ up and I won't call at all," he threatened, waving the phone in front of Malik's face. Pouting, Malik yanked his wrist from Bakura's grip. He folded his arms on Bakura's chest and rested his chin on them, watching as Bakura dialed the number for the game shop. Bakura stroked Malik's hair with his free hand as he waited for someone to pick up on the other end.

"Maybe they're still asleep," Bakura said. Malik yawned. "Just like you should be."

Malik grumbled and snuggled closer to Bakura's chest. Bakura chuckled lightly.

"Your next appointment's in just a few weeks," the spirit pointed out. "We could wait and ask then. I'm sure that the kid'll be fine."

"We are _not_ taking any chances," Malik growled. "If you dare hang up that phone-"

"Okay, okay." Bakura paused as someone on the other end of the phone finally picked up. Malik closed his eyes, half-listening to what Bakura was saying and fighting the urge to fall back asleep.

"Well, good morning, Yugi. You certainly sound bright and chipper this morning." Malik smirked at the biting sarcasm coating Bakura's voice. "Let me talk to the Pharaoh. ...Wake him up, then. Don't tell me no! I don't care _how _angry he gets when he's woke up before noon! ...Fine. I'll leave a message. Long story short, Malik's hormones got the better of him last night, and now he's worried that we might have hurt the baby."

"Oh, sure, blame this on me," Malik mumbled.

"You _are_ the one who instigated it," Bakura replied. Malik nudged the spirit's hand and Bakura resumed stroking his hair, listening to Yugi's response. Suddenly, he sat upright.

"Care to repeat that?" he growled, eyes narrowing into little slits. Malik stared; apparently, Yugi had revealed something that rubbed Bakura the wrong way. Malik immediately thought the worst and placed one hand on his stomach.

"_Oh, gods, we've hurt the baby. Gods. We probably killed it, or it's already dying. I felt it kick earlier, but...did it really feel weaker, or is it my imagination?"_

Bakura placed one hand on top of Malik's and the Egyptian looked at him, but Bakura was still on the phone.

"I suppose you want me to thank you for telling me. Tell the Pharaoh I _will_ be maiming him the next time I see him, will you?" Bakura hung up the phone and flopped back onto his pillow. "Ra, I need a cigarette," he muttered.

"Baku, what did he say?" Malik asked, worried. Bakura looked at Malik and cupped his cheek gently.

"Don't look so nervous. The baby's fine. Apparently, 'his majesty' thought it would be funny to tell us that we couldn't have sex without hurting the kid, when he knew all along it was safe for us to fuck."

"Really?" Malik asked, unable to help but feel relieved. His baby was safe, and now he wouldn't have to worry about abstaining from sex with Bakura.

Bakura reached over to his night stand and grabbed the pack of cigarettes he had discarded the night before. He pushed Malik off of him and stood up.

"I'm going to be outside. You should take a shower, you probably feel gross from last night."

Malik groaned and pulled the blankets over his head.

"Or you could go back to sleep." Bakura pulled the blankets back slightly and kissed the top of Malik's head. "Just shout if you need me, okay?"

"Mm-hmm," Malik grumbled, already half-asleep.

Bakura tugged on a pair of jeans, deciding to go shirtless. It was warm enough out, and the neighbors didn't care enough to complain about it. Otogi would probably enjoy the view, anyway, Bakura thought, lighting a cigarette as he headed down the stairs and out the door.

Leaning against the side of the house, Bakura took a deep drag on his cigarette, feeling his rage bubble to the surface. Damn that Pharaoh, tricking him like that!

"May he be banished to the Underworld and Ammit devour his soul," Bakura muttered angrily, flicking the lighter on and off. Not only was Bakura forced to go without sex for three entire months, Malik had been afraid that he would hurt the baby by doing other simple, everyday things that he had always done without thinking. Bakura bit down on his cigarette angrily.

"That pompous, stubborn, arrogant son of a-"

"Arf!" Bakura looked down. Otogi's Chihuahua looked up at him, tongue hanging out and tail wagging. Scowling, the spirit reached down and picked up the animal by the scruff of its neck. Holding it in front of his face, he narrowed his eyes.

"What is it about my yard that is so much more appealing than your own?" he snarled. The dog yipped happily, its small pink tongue darting out and planting a lick right on Bakura's nose. Bakura growled and stormed over to his neighbors house.

"Otogi!" he yelled, banging on the door with his free hand. "Get your ass out here!"

The black-haired man opened the door, blinking in surprise as Bakura thrust the dog in his face.

"I believe this belongs to you," Bakura said, raising one eyebrow as the dog squirmed, trying to lick his wrist. Otogi quickly took his pet, setting it on the floor and using his foot to keep it from launching at Bakura.

"Sorry, Bakura. Buster still doesn't understand that our neighbors aren't exactly dog people. Why aren't you wearing a shirt?"

"I just woke up and needed a cigarette. Didn't feel like dressing all the way. Keep that _thing_ out of my yard."

Otogi crossed his arms and smirked.

"_Someone_ woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. What's wrong, didn't get laid last night?" Bakura bristled.

"As a matter of fact, I did, which is more than I can say for you. Whatever happened to that girl you were seeing? Did your rat-dog finally scare her off?"

"None of your business," Otogi muttered, suddenly defensive. "Speaking of girls, I'm sure Malik's missing you."

"Malik happens to be asleep, not that it's any of your business." Bakura crossed his arms. "But speaking of Malik, he wanted me to ask you something several weeks ago that I didn't feel like asking at that point in time, but I may as well ask it now."

"And what might that be?"

"Do you know where your property ends and mine begins?"

Otogi frowned and scratched his head.

"Well..." He scanned his yard carefully. "I'd say that the telephone pole is on my property, and your property starts on the other side of it. Why did Malik need to know that?"

"We're thinking of building a fence, if you must know."

The black-haired man raised an eyebrow.

"If Buster going into your yard really bothers you that much, I could get a shock collar for him."

"It's not your stupid rat-dog that's the problem." Bakura sighed; Otogi would see the kid soon enough, might as well tell him _something_. "Malik and I are adopting a child, and Malik has this paranoid idea that if we don't get a fence built, the kid'll wander off."

"_You're_ adopting a child?"

"To be perfectly fair, it's more Malik's idea than mine. It's much easier to just go along with what he says than try to argue."

"Do you guys own a car, or just that motorcycle?" Bakura raised one eyebrow, asking Otogi to elaborate. The dice freak shrugged.

"Well, it isn't safe for little kids to ride on motorcycles. It's not even that safe for adults. I've only ever seen you guys walk or ride the motorcycle whenever you go somewhere. How are you supposed to transport a kid around?"

Bakura stared. How could this never have crossed his mind? How could this never have crossed Malik's mind? A kid would never be safe on that death trap Malik called his transportation.

"You're right," he muttered. "I have to go." Turning, he quickly walked back to his own house, ignoring the confused look Otogi shot at his retreating back.

Bakura went upstairs and opened his bedroom door. Malik was still asleep, curled up under a cocoon of blankets. With a small smile, Bakura walked over and shook his shoulder gently.

"Malik," he whispered. "I'm going out for a little while. I'll take my cell phone, so call if you need anything." Malik grunted in response, leaving Bakura to assume he had heard him. He kissed the side Malik's head.

"Be back soon, baby. Just keep sleeping."

* * *

Several hours later, Bakura walked in the front door and started upstairs, only to spot Malik curled up on the couch, fast asleep, the television remote clutched loosely in his right hand. Shaking his head, Bakura walked over to him, took the remote, and shut the tv off. He looked at the sleeping boy and sighed. Sitting on the couch, he ran his finger up Malik's spine.

"Malik," he murmured in a low voice. "It's time to wake up." The boy stirred, but remained asleep. With a smirk, Bakura leaned over and nuzzled the Egyptian's neck, nipping gently at the soft skin. "Malik..." He rubbed Malik's inner thigh, running his tongue along Malik's throat.

"Fucking HELL, Bakura!" Malik yelled as he was suddenly awoken by Bakura sharply grabbing his crotch. He pushed at the pale spirit, glaring at the smug (yet incredibly handsome) man. Bakura shrugged.

"Had to wake you up somehow," he said. "It's not healthy to sleep on the couch."

"It's not like I _meant_ to fall asleep here, Bakura! I woke up, you weren't here, so I came downstairs to wait for you, and I fell asleep! Yami said that exhaustion was a side effect of pregnancy, so don't blame me!"

Bakura sighed. _"Those mood swings are a bitch,"_ he thought. He smiled at Malik and stood up.

"I have a surprise for you," he said.

"Unless it's something involving mayonnaise, I'm not interested," Malik muttered. Bakura gave him an odd look.

"...Mayonnaise?"

"Look, I'm craving mayo, okay? Don't ask me why, I just am!" Malik snapped. Bakura shrugged and held out one hand.

"Tell you what, come see the surprise, and I'll go out and buy you all the mayonnaise you want. Legally."

Malik raised an eyebrow, but took Bakura's hand and allowed the spirit to lead him outside. When he saw what was sitting in the driveway, his eyes grew to the size of saucers and his jaw dropped.

"You like it?" Bakura asked. Malik nodded, unable to speak.

Sitting in the driveway was what looked like a brand-new, navy blue convertible. Malik blinked and shook his head, just to make sure he really was seeing a brand-new, navy blue convertible. Bakura smirked.

"I thought that's what your reaction would be." Malik turned to him, eyes shining.

"Baku, how...?"

"Well, I went to the car dealership outside of the city, and asked them if I could take the car for a test drive. They were stupid enough to hand over the keys. I found a car that someone was selling outside their house and switched the license plates, and that was that. Really wasn't that hard to do."

"You actually _stole_ a friggin' _car_? That was brand-new and still in the lot?" Malik threw his arms around Bakura's neck. "Only you would be able to pull that off." Bakura hugged Malik back.

"Well, I figured that it would be a lot safer for the baby to ride in a car than on a motorcycle. That's pretty much the reason I did it."

"...You did this for the baby?"

"Yeah."

Malik stepped back and smirked at Bakura.

"So you _do_ care about her!" he said triumphantly.

"I never said-"

"Bakura, face it. You wouldn't go through all the trouble of stealing a car unless you felt _something_ for our daughter."

"Son," Bakura corrected. "And I-"

"Didn't you promise to go buy some mayonnaise after I saw your surprise?"

"Don't change the subject like that!"

"We can argue about this _after_ you take this car, and go get me some mayonnaise! And some deviled eggs, if you know what's good for you."

"Malik." Bakura looked slightly queasy. "That doesn't even _sound_ remotely appetizing."

"I know that, but it's what the baby wants, so you had better damn well go and buy some!"

"Malik-"

"I am locking you of the frigging house until you bring me some!" Malik turned and ran into the house, slamming the door before Bakura knew what was happening. He stared at the closed door for a while before sighing and turning to the car. Pulling the keys out of his pocket, he grimaced.

"Malik wants deviled eggs and mayo. If I want any chance of getting laid tonight, I'd better go get some. I'd better stock up on some other supplies, too. No telling what he'll be craving next..."

* * *

**Lame ending is lame. Apologies.**

**So, I was working on this chapter in class a few days ago, trying to figure out what would happen, and some girl (**who I really don't like. At all. Cuz she's a bitch.**) asked me, "Oh, you're writing another story?" And to be polite, I answered, "Yup." Then she asked, "What's this one about?" I literally froze, staring at my paper, and trying to figure out something to tell her. Luckily, she came to the conclusion that I had just started it and didn't know what it was going to be about yet. So she didn't have to learn that the quiet girl with glasses who sits in the back of the classroom fantasizes about gay men having sex in her spare time. **

**Review? =3**


	10. Chapter 9

**So, I honestly did not want to write this chapter. Because it bored me. I know what's gonna happen next chapter, and knowing that makes me want to write the next one, but I can't just yet! So that's my excuse for the late update this time. I still hope that people will read this chapter because I don't think it's completely horrible, the next chapter is just going to be more interesting because this one's filler.**

* * *

Bakura crawled over to Malik from across the couch, smirking. Malik glanced at him with disinterest.

"Yes?"

"I'm bored," Bakura said in a false whine, nuzzling Malik's neck. Malik rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to his book.

"Then go do something." Bakura didn't say anything in response to this, but his smirk grew wider as he slipped one hand up Malik's shirt.

"Something that _isn't_ me." Bakura frowned and pulled his hand out.

"Malik-"

"Not in the mood, Bakura." Bakura groaned and flopped down, resting his head on Malik's lap.

"You're no fun."

"You're annoying me. Just leave me alone," Malik snapped, shoving Bakura off of his lap and onto the floor. Bakura landed with a thump and sat up, rubbing the back of his head.

"These mood swings of yours are really starting to try my patience. I'm gonna end up with a concussion because of you!"

"Oh, I'm _so_ sorry, love of my life. Want me to suck your dick and make it all better?" Malik responded sarcastically. Bakura sighed and stood up, taking the book away from Malik and forcing the teen to look at him.

"Okay, what's bugging you now?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing. I'm fine," Malik said, glaring at Bakura. Bakura rolled his eyes. Before Malik could react, Bakura scooped him up and started for their bedroom.

"Bakura, put me down!" Malik demanded, trying to hit the pale man.

"You're acting overly cranky. You need a nap."

Malik grumbled, but leaned against Bakura's chest and closed his eyes.

"I won't be able to fall asleep," he said. "Not with your daughter keeping me awake with cravings and kicking me and all that shit."

"Oh, I'm sure our son is just already looking forward to the attention he'll be receiving when he arrives," Bakura replied, opening the bedroom door. Malik opened one eye as Bakura set him down on the bed.

"Why are you so hell-bent on the thought that she's a boy?" he asked.

"Why are _you_ so hell-bent on the thought that he's a girl?" Bakura shot back.

"Call it intuition. Or, you could call it I want a fucking daughter, you douche."

Bakura laughed harshly.

"That's cute. The fact that you're calling me names just proves that you know as well as I do that we are having a son."

"Daughter."

"Stubborn as always, aren't we, dear?" Smirking, Bakura sat down on the bed next to Malik. "Wanna make a bet on it?"

"No." Bakura blinked. He hadn't been expecting _that_ response.

"Why not?"

"Because all of your bets involve either fucking or dressing up in skimpy outfits before fucking. And, to be honest, that really isn't something I want to think about when I look back and remember the time we found out the gender of our child. Understand?"

Bakura sighed. He wouldn't admit it, but he _did_ understand. To Malik, this child was the best thing to come out of his life so far. Other than Bakura, of course. It was only natural that he would feel strongly about finding out the gender.

"Alright, no bets," Bakura agreed. "But you probably should take a nap. The Pharaoh will be coming over later today and I don't want you ripping his head off. Leave that to me after the baby's born."

Malik nodded and lay down under the covers.

"What do you honestly think it will be, Bakura? Boy or girl?"

Bakura paused, thinking hard about what his response should be.

"Malik, honestly, as long as it is born healthy and strong, I could care less whether it's a girl or a boy."

Malik smiled, apparently happy with the answer.

"That's great," he said. "But I don't know if I want to know the gender today."

"Why wouldn't you want to know? All you've been able to talk about is how much you're hoping for a girl."

"Well, that's part of it. I mean, what if it's _not_ a girl? Don't get me wrong, I'll love it no matter what, but I don't know how I'll react if it turns out to be a boy instead. And besides," Malik grinned. "It's fun arguing with you about what the gender will be." Bakura smiled, leaning down to kiss Malik's forehead.

"Well, you still have a few hours to think about it."

"What about you? Do you want to know?"

"Malik, if I have to wait until the fucking birth to see if that kid has a dick or not, I will."

Malik scoffed slightly.

"Nice way of putting it," he muttered, yawning. "I think maybe I will try to take a nap. I am pretty tired."

"Alright." Bakura kissed Malik gently. "Sleep tight, Malik." Malik snuggled under the blankets and waited for Bakura to leave the room. Once the door was closed , he pushed the blankets back and stared down at his stomach. He still wasn't showing to much, but there was definitely a noticeable bulge. What exactly was lurking under his skin? Was it a boy, destined to learn the laws of thievery from Bakura, or was it a little girl, already preparing to break hundreds of hearts? Either way, Malik knew that his child would be perfect, a handsome boy or a beautiful girl.

"_Or both,"_ he thought, unable to get the idea of twins out of his mind. He shook his head. No, Yami would have told him if there were two babies in there. He would have to make do with one.

He smiled slightly. He didn't particularly _want_ more than one child, and he knew Bakura would never agree to having more kids, but with all these thoughts of twins, he couldn't help but wonder if he and Bakura ever would have another child.

"_Probably not,"_ Malik thought. "_It's going to be hard enough taking care of one child, not to mention expensive. It's better that we just have this one baby and be done with it."_

Malik smiled, rubbing his stomach gently, feeling the baby kick when he stopped.

"You haven't even been born yet and you're already spoiled," Malik said. "There's something wrong with that."

The Egyptian lay back down and pulled the covers back up. He placed one hand on his stomach and sighed.

"Do you think you can calm down long enough to let me get a few hours of sleep?" he asked, receiving a slightly harder than normal kick in response. "Thank you." Snuggling under the covers, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to doze off.

* * *

"Malik. Wake up." Malik groaned and opened his eyes, staring up at Bakura.

"What?" he asked, sitting up.

"Yami will be here in a few minutes. You should get up."

Malik groaned, rubbing his eyes. He felt like he had barely slept a few minutes.

"Remind me again why he's coming here _today_?" Bakura smiled at him.

"Aww, you still sleepy, Malik?" he teased. "Don't worry, you can come up here and sleep some more when he leaves. And maybe I'll help you."

"Don't even joke," Malik shot back as the doorbell rang from downstairs.

"And that would be 'His Majesty' now," Bakura said, standing up and pulling a disgruntled Malik out from his cocoon of blankets. "Have yo decided if you want to know the gender yet?"

Oh, shit. Malik hadn't thought at all about whether he wanted to know the gender or not.

"Umm... I have no fucking clue, Bakura!" Malik said as he followed his boyfriend downstairs. "I mean, I think I do, but at the same time, I don't."

"Well you'd better make your decision fast," Bakura said. "Because you've only got a few minutes."

Bakura opened the door to let Yami in while Malik sat down on the couch.

"Good evening, Malik," Yami said pleasantly, ignoring Bakura, who grumbled about "letting the filth enter his sanctuary" and closed the door. "Nothing life-altering happen over the last couple of weeks with the pregnancy, did it?"

"No. Everything's fine. I've been craving weird stuff, though. Like, stuff I've never tasted before in my life and don't even really like now that I have tasted them."

"That's perfectly normal. Almost all pregnant people have cravings at one point or another during their pregnancy. Nothing to worry about. Other than the cravings, nothing seems out of the ordinary?" Yami asked.

"No," Malik responded.

"Alright. I'll just take a quick look at the baby to make sure it's developing properly, and then, if we're lucky, I'll be able to tell you whether it's a boy or a girl. Is that alright with you?"

Malik hesitated and glanced at Bakura, but the look on his lover's face told him that this choice was completely up to him. Malik paused for just a moment more before opening his mouth to respond.

"I..."

* * *

**And, after all that, I leave you on a cliffhanger. Ha!**

**So, I don't know what should happen next. I mean, obviously I have a chapter planned out, but I'm just not sure whether I should reveal the baby next chapter, or at the end. There's one part of me that really wants to tell everyone (here's a hint: it's NOT twins!) But there's another part that wants to be evil and make everyone wait. So what do you all think? Leave a review telling me if you want to know the gender now or later? **


	11. Chapter 10

**So, since there was an equal number of reviewers who wanted the gender to be revealed now and who wanted the gender to be revealed later, I asked my friend which I should do and she said I should wait, which is what I'm going to do. So the baby's gender will not be revealed yet, but be patient, because it will be eventually.**

* * *

"I...I don't think so," Malik found himself saying. Yami raised one eyebrow.

"Are you sure? It's really no problem for me to tell you."

"I'm sure. Besides..." Malik glanced at Bakura and smiled slightly. "It's kinda fun arguing over what the baby'll be."

Yami shrugged. "Okay, it's your decision, not mine. So, shall we get this examination started, then?"

Malik nodded, obediently pulling his shirt off so that Yami could examine the child. Bakura sat down next to Malik.

"You really don't want to know yet?" he asked. Malik shook his head.

"I just think it would be fun to wait a while before finding out. I'm not quite finished arguing with you yet," Malik replied with a small smirk.

"Why, because you don't want to admit that it's a boy?"

"No, because I know that it's a girl."

Bakura smiled slightly.

"You're so stubborn. No wonder you're the woman around here."

"Call me a woman again, and you'll be sleeping on the couch with no sex for two months while I constantly prance around the house in skimpy outfits."

"And you're not normally walking around dressed in skimpy outfits? Surely you remember last weekend -"

"_If_ you're quite finished." The interupption came from Yami, who looked a combination of flustered and annoyed at the conversation. Needless to say, it was an amusing expression for the ex-Pharaoh to be wearing, and Bakura couldn't resist the urge to throw his head back and laugh.

"Well, Pharaoh, perhaps next time you should concentrate on doing your job rather then eavesdrop on our conversations." Yami glared at the tombrobber.

"If you don't shut up -"

"What, you'll force me to sleep on the couch while you run around in skimpy outfits? Appreciate the offer, but I already have Malik for that, so there's really no need."

"Bakura, be nice. Or you won't be allowed to sit in on these exams anymore," Malik warned. Bakura scowled at him.

"You're no fun."

"It's my job." Malik turned back to Yami. "Is everything okay with the baby?"

"Yes, everything's fine. It's developing right one schedule. I predict that in about six and a half months or so, you'll be having one healthy little baby."

"Only one? So I'm not having twins, then?" Malik asked, unable to help but feel a little disappointed. Yami shook his head.

"Sorry, Malik. Only one. Would you like to see it?" he offered, a slight condolense. Malik looked up, interested.

"How? Did you steal some ultrasound equipment from the hospital?" Yami chuckled.

"Not exactly. I can, however, use Shadow Magic to show you, if you want. There's no garuntee I'll get it right the first time, but hopefully you'll be able to see your child."

Malik nodded. "Yes, I'd like that. Bakura, do you want to see her, too?" Bakura shook his head.

"I can check on him on my own. Yami's not the only one with Shadow Magic, remember."

"Why haven't you let me look if you knew about this?" Malik asked.

"Because I didn't know that there was a way for you to look. Quite frankly, I'm surprised _he_ knows of one when I didn't," Bakura responded, gesturing to Yami.

"Well, perhaps it just goes to show which of us has more intellegence and better control of their Shadow Magic," Yami said with a smirk. Bakura glared at him.

"Are you _trying_ to piss me off? You're in my house right now, you have no idea where I keep my weapons."

"Oh, yes, I'm so sure that you would attempt to kill me when your boyfriend needs me to make sure his baby will arrive safely."

"Oh, silly little Pharaoh. I won't kill you yet. I'll simply maim you."

"Bakura, Yami, that's enough." Malik placed one hand over his stomach as the baby kicked. "The baby can hear you, and I don't think she likes the arguing." Yami smiled slightly.

"Sorry, Malik, your housemate just has that air about him that gets on my nerves," he apologized. Bakura rolled his eyes, leaning back and crossing his arms.

"Just show him the damn kid already, Yami. The sooner you get out of my house the better."

"Bakura," Malik said warningly. Yami cleared his throat to regain the Egyptian's attention.

"Well, Malik, would you like to see your child?" he asked. Malik nodded.

"Yes, please. I really, really would."

"Alright. Now, give me just one second..." Yami placed his hands on Malik's stomach and concentrated hard. His hands soon started to glow with the tell-tale purplish-black aura of Shadow Magic. After a few seconds, Yami reached up and placed one of his hands against Malik's forehead.

"Do you see it?"

"No, not ye- Oh..." Malik reached out and grabbed Bakura's hand, squeezing hard. "Bakura...I see it," he whispered. "I can actually see it."

Bakura smiled, squeezing Malik's hand back. He really didn't see the appeal, the brat wasn't much to look at yet, but he was happy that Malik was getting the chance to see it. Not that he would ever admit that to Yami, of course...

Yami waited for a minute or two before removing his hands. Manipulating Shadow Magic in such a way was difficult and he couldn't use it for too long. Seeing the developing child on his own was one thing, but manipulating the Magic in such a way that a picture of the fetus was sent into another person's mind clearly was much more difficult. Especially when he was trying to hide the gender, but luckily the unborn child had been moving around on its own, preventing even Yami from seeing whether it was a girl or a boy.

"Thank you so much, Yami," Malik said. "I can't believe I actually saw it. Bakura, it was moving around and I couldn't just feel it, I could see it! It was like it knew I was watching it."

Yami smiled and stood up.

"I'll stop by in another month or so, unless something comes up."

"Alright. Thank you again."

"Anytime, Malik."

Malik smiled and snuggled against Bakura's shoulder as Yami left the house.

"I can't believe I actually saw her..." he whispered. Bakura wrapped one arm around his lover's shoulders and pulled Malik closer.

"Wait till you see him in real life," he whispered. "Only six more months or so and we'll be parents."

"...Yeah. Six months." Malik sighed. "Whoever would've thought that the two of us, of all people, would become parents?"

"It is pretty hard to believe, isn't it? Now, as I recall, you were very reluctant to wake up from a nap to witness this miraculous little event. Shall I assume you want to go back to bed?"

"Yeah, I think I do. I _am_ kinda tired still."

"Alright. I think I might join you, actually." Bakura stood up and scooped up the younger boy, who smiled slightly.

"You don't have to carry me, Baku," he said. "I can walk myself upstairs."

"Oh, but where's the fun in that?"

Malik laughed and leaned against Bakura's chest as he was carried upstairs. His smile faded slightly as he glanced down at his stomach.

_"Only six months,"_ he thought. _"Not enough time at all..."_

* * *

Bakura opened his eyes. The house was dark, and he could feel that something wasn't right. He sat up and looked at the mattress next to him. To his surprise, Malik wasn't asleep. In fact, he was wide awake, staring at nothing.

And crying.

"Malik?" Bakura gently touched the boy's shoulder. Malik flinched. "Hey..." Bakura carefully pulled Malik into a sitting position and brushed his hair back. "What's wrong?" Malik covered his face with his hands in an attempt to hide his tear-stained face and the fact that he was still crying.

"Bakura...I saw the baby today..."

"I _know_ that, Malik. I was there. You were happy about it." Malik shook his head violently, then nodded.

"I was. At first I was. I was so happy. I could finally see this thing, this..._life_ that I helped create, but then...it's going to depend on us for everything, Bakura. For food, clothes, protection, everything and I...I just don't know if I can..." With a sob, Malik launched himself forward and buried his face in Bakura's chest. "In six months, our whole lives are going to change. We can't take care of a baby, Bakura. We can't be expected to take this living, breathing creature and raise it. I'm just a kid. You're over five thousand years old, but you're stuck in a teenager's body. In six months...we're just going to be a couple of kids trying to raise another kid. We can't do it. _I_ can't do it. I just can't."

Bakura wrapped his arms around Malik and rubbed his back gently.

"It'll be okay, Malik," he murmured. "Everything'll be okay, I know it will." Malik relaxed slightly against Bakura's chest.

"Ba-Bakura, I should just...I should just get an abortion, it'd be better for us, it'd be better for the baby - ah!" Malik let out a startled yelp as Bakura grasped his shoulders and shoved him out to arm's length, giving him such a fierce look that Malik swore the child inside him could feel it.

"Malik. What did you just say?"

"I..."

"_Malik_. You. Are. _Not_. Getting rid of our child. Our child is going to be born in six and a half months and we are going to raise it together. Understand?"

Malik nodded slightly.

"But-"

"Shh. Don't worry. You can do this. We can do this. Trust me."

"...I do trust you, Baku. I always have. But...how is the baby going to get here?" Bakura sighed and held Malik close.

"I don't know, Malik," he replied honestly. "But I'm sure the Pharaoh has some idea of how to get the baby out of you." Malik didn't say anything, only snuggled closer to Bakura. Bakura stroked his hair gently. "Do you want me to call him tomorrow?"

Malik nodded.

"Please?" he asked. "I'd appreciate it."

"Don't worry about it. I will." Bakura leaned forward and kissed Malik's forehead gently. "You'd better get some sleep. I doubt you've gotten any since before Yami came over, am I right?"

Malik smiled slightly.

"Yeah," he admitted. "I guess I was a little freaked out about finally seeing the baby and picturing the responsibility that's gonna come with it..."

Bakura pulled back the blankets and allowed Malik to snuggle underneath. The spirit laid down next to the young Egyptian and held him close.

"Just get some sleep, Malik. I'll take care of you," he murmured. Malik smiled and closed his eyes, snuggling closer to Bakura's warm chest. Bakura listened as his breathing eventually evened out as he slipped into sleep.

Frowning slightly, Bakura gently pushed up the shirt Malik was wearing and placed one hand on his stomach. He doubted that Malik's mini-panic attack had harmed the baby in any way, he didn't really think that even a severe one would cause any permanent damage to the fetus, but he still wanted to check. Just to be safe.

Closing his eyes, he concentrated on harnessing the Shadow Magic until he had a clear picture of the child in his mind's eye. Everything seemed to be normal as far as he could tell, at least nothing seemed different from all the other times he had checked on the child.

Bakura smiled slightly and removed his hand from Malik's stomach. Just as he thought, the baby was fine. He could understand Malik's worry, he had certainly never thought that he would sire a child that he would have to take care of, but...well, they had six months to prepare. As long as Malik didn't get anymore crazy, panic-caused ideas to get rid of the baby somehow, everything would be okay.

He hoped.

* * *

**Like? Don't like? Infuriated that I'm still keeping the gender a secret? Review!**


	12. Chapter 11

**So, I was bored and I decided to update this story. Early for me to update, I know, but I hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

Bakura sighed, massaging his forehead. Screw the cigarettes, he needed alcohol. Something. Stealing a car so that he couldn't be traced he could handle. Coping with Malik's abnormal male pregnancy, no problem.

What he _couldn't_ handle was Malik's baby shower. Mai, Anzu, Ryou and Malik, all gathered in the living room, talking about clothes for the baby, toys for the baby and anything else about the baby that came to mind.

It had been about a month and a half since Malik's little panic attack and Bakura was glad to see that he was back to his old self, fawning over a child that wasn't even born yet. About two weeks ago, Malik had insisted on a baby shower.

"I'm not having one when I'm nine months along," he had said. "I don't want to go into labor in the middle of it."

"Then why bother having one at all?" Bakura had asked. Malik had simply smiled at him and replied;

"It means less stuff for you to steal for the baby."

And now, two weeks later, Bakura was here, lurking in the kitchen with Mariku, who was also trying to avoid the plague of cutesyness that was currently in the living room. They had tried sitting in on the shower for a while, but after about half an hour of suffering, they decided that the women and hikaris could make do without them and had moved to the kitchen.

Mariku leaned against the counter and groaned.

"Gotta cigarette I can have?" he asked. Bakura jerked his thumb in the direction of the living room.

"Upstairs. If you wanna try to get through the living room to get one, not to mention get past Malik who doesn't allow smoking in the house anymore, more power to you. I'm staying here."

"Forget it. I'm not _that_ desperate. I'll have one when I get home." Bakura smirked; Ryou never did forgive him for introducing the insane yami to cigarettes. Once Mariku learned of the calming powers of nicotine, he had started smoking about a pack a day** (1)**.

"So," Mariku began, looking at Bakura. "You, the thief king, as a father? Never actually thought I'd see the day."

"That makes two of us," Bakura responded, crossing his arms. He didn't care what others, like Mariku, thought. He was going to be a father, that was the end of it.

"I still want to kill you for getting Malik knocked-up, but Ryou convinced me to refrain since Malik is apparently going to need you to help raise the kid. So instead I taped a picture of you to a punching bag and took great pleasure in tearing it apart with a rusty switchblade."

"Duly noted." Bakura glanced back into the living room, where Malik and the others were still talking. Malik caught his eye and smiled slightly. Bakura smirked back. He wasn't particularly worried, he highly doubted any of Malik's friends would try to hurt him or the baby, but he still wanted to make sure that nothing was happening to his boyfriend.

"Huh." Bakura turned back at the small sound of surprise Mariku made.

"What?" Mariku smirked.

"You've gotten soft, Bakura."

"What the hell are you talking about? I'm not soft."

"Sure you are. You keep looking to see if Malik's alright. You've been acting weird everytime someone mentions the kid to you, like you're looking forward to it but you're pretending not to be. You've gone soft."

"I'm not soft, Mariku," Bakura growled. "I'm...just being courteous to Malik. He needs me more than ever right now. I have to protect him and the baby." Mariku rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, whatever. You've gone soft."

"I haven't gone soft, dammit!" Bakura said as loudly as he dared. He definitely didn't want anyone to hear this conversation.

"Okay, fine." Mariku held up his hands in self-defense. "I'll drop it."

"Good. You'll live longer that way." Bakura leaned back against the counter. "By the way, there's something I've been meaning to discuss with you."

"Oh? And that would be?"

"I've talked it over with Malik. When the baby's born, it's going to be too dangerous to have the Millennium Ring and Rod around. The kid might hurt himself somehow. So, we were thinking that you and Ryou should take the Items once the kid's born."

"You really wanna trust _me_ with the Rod?" Mariku asked in disbelief.

"Well, it's either we give them to you, or we give them to Ishizu who will donate them to the museum. Malik and I aren't exactly keen on the latter idea, so we decided the best thing would be for you and Ryou to keep them safe for us."

"I'll talk it over with Ryou. He's had a rough past with the Ring, thanks to you, but I'm sure he'll agree if it means your brat stays safe."

"Good. Malik will be pleased to hear that." Bakura wasn't too keen of surrendering the Millennium Ring, even to Ryou, but after discussing it with Malik, he had decided it was the best thing to do. There was no telling what would happen if a young child happened to get their hands on a Millennium Item. It was safest for the child - and the parents - to give the Items to someone they trusted.

Mariku and Ryou were the closest people they counted as "trustworthy."

* * *

Meanwhile, Malik was in the middle of his own conversation.

"So, is it a boy or a girl?" Anzu asked, finally voicing the question they had all been dying to ask. Malik smiled.

"Don't know. Bakura and I decided to wait until it's born."

"Which do you think it'll be?" Ryou asked.

"Well, I want it to be a girl, but Bakura really wants a boy, so it's kinda hard to guess." Malik laughed slightly. "To be honest, I just like arguing with him about it, that's why I didn't want to know just yet."

"What about names?" Mai asked. "Have either of you thought of names yet?"

"Well, not really," Malik admitted. "I mean, I've had a few ideas, but I didn't really like any of them. I promised Bakura that he could name it if it's a boy, but he hasn't really mentioned any names yet."

Mai gasped.

"Hon, you're gonna want to take that promise back as soon as possible. Trust me."

"Why?" Malik asked. "If he wants a boy so badly, he should be allowed to choose the name for it, right?"

"Wrong!" Mai replied. She patted Malik's hand and smiled. "Listen, Malik, it's very sweet that you want Bakura to feel like he's got a role in this whole pregnancy thing, but, let's be frank here. He's a sperm donor. That's the only part he gets to play. If you tell him that he can name the baby, he's just gonna keep putting it off until the very last minute, and next thing you know, you're poor baby's gonna have the most embarrassing name this side of Domino."

"Well...then I'll just move to the other side of Domino."

"Mai's right, Malik," Anzu spoke up. "Bakura's not the one who's carrying the baby. He's not the one with morning sickness, or cramps, or headaches. He's not the one who's going to have to wear those ugly maternity clothes. He's not the one who's going to have to go through labor. He's not doing anything, so why should he get to pick out the name for your baby?"

"Well, it's his baby, too..." Malik mumbled. The girls did have a bit of a point. The baby's name was the most important thing; it was something the child would carry for his or her entire life. What if the baby was a boy and Bakura got to name it? What if he gave it a name that would make the child embarrassed by his parents for his entire life?

"Malik?" Ryou spoke up. He stood and walked over to sit on the couch next to the Egyptian. "Has Bakura been taking care of you?"

"What?" Ryou smiled gently.

"He went out and stole a car because he knew that a motorcycle would be too dangerous for a young child, didn't he? And he sat up with you whenever you had morning sickness or when the baby was kicking too much for you to sleep. He goes out and buys you whatever food you want whenever you're craving something, even if he has to drive for an hour to find it. I think that he's doing more than enough to deserve the chance to name the baby. _If_ it turns out it is a boy." Ryou placed one hand on Malik's stomach and smiled. "Besides, I think that the baby would like to think that it's father did something other than just donate some sperm."

Malik smiled.

"Yeah. You're right, Ryou."

* * *

Several hours later, the baby shower was over, and Malik and Bakura were alone in their house. Malik had moved the clothes and toys he had recieved as gifts for the baby into the room that they had decided on for the nursery. He and Bakura were sitting next to each other on the couch, pretending to watch some late-night talk show.

"Mai thinks you'll give the baby a name he'll regret for the rest of his life. If it's a boy," Malik said, snuggling against Bakura's shoulder. Bakura chuckled.

"Tell Ms. Valentine that she has nothing to worry about. I won't give the kid a terrible name."

"So does that mean you have a couple of names picked out? Let's hear them."

Bakura leaned over and pressed his lips to Malik's, sliding his tongue inside the other's mouth in an attempt to buy some time. Of course he hadn't thought of any names yet. Malik's stupid cravings had him running all over Domino, not to mention all the times he'd had to call the Pharoah because of some new worry that had cropped up in Malik's head. The kid was causing too much trouble and it wasn't even born yet.

Malik shook Bakura off.

"Stop that. Answer my question." Bakura smirked and pushed Malik - gently, of course - down onto the couch.

"Well, what about you?" he murmured, leaning over him. "Have you thought of any names yet?"

"As a matter of fact, I have," Malik responded. "And I've told you my suggestions before. As I recall, you shot down every one of them."

Bakura paused. Come to think of it, he _did_ have a rather vague memory of Malik suggesting names for a girl while Bakura snickered at each and every one. That discussion had ended when Malik had thrown an alarm clock at Bakura.

"Well, to be honest, I haven't picked out a name yet," Bakura admitted. "But that's because," he continued, seeing Malik's eyes narrow. "None of the ideas I had were any good. I want our son's name to be perfect, and everything I've come up with so far haven't been a title worthy of a future thief king."

"Or thief queen," Malik pointed out. "I might be the one picking out the name." Bakura smiled slightly.

"Right. Now, if you'd let me..."

"Nope." Malik pushed Bakura off of him and stood up. "I'm tired, and my stomach hurts. I'm going to take a shower and then go to bed." Before Bakura could respond, convince him to stay for just a few minutes, Malik was in the bathroom with the door locked, obviously not wanting to be disturbed. With a growl, Bakura stormed upstairs.

He needed a cigarette, he thought, going into the bedroom and going to his nightstand. He didn't care if Malik didn't allow them in the house anymore, the entire day had been too damn stressful for Bakura to handle and-

He stared down into the drawer with a puzzled expression on his face. _Someone_ - it didn't take him long to figure out who - had taken his cigarettes and replaced them with a pack of gum and a note. Bakura scowled. Malik was _so _going to get it.

He picked up the note and looked at it.

"_Baku, I know that you'll kill me for taking your cigarettes, but I'm just trying to make sure you stay healthy. I don't want you to kill yourself smoking, or to hurt the baby by secondhand smoke. Please try to quit. I love you. Malik."_

Bakura sighed, dropping the note back into the drawer.

"Typical mortal," he muttered, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Always worrying."

With a smirk, he sat down on the bed and took out the pack of gum that Malik had replaced his cigarettes with. He would humor Malik for now, but if the Egyptian thought that he would get away scot-free, he was sadly mistaken.

Which is why, when he got out of the shower, Malik wasn't at all surprised to find Bakura waiting for him, completely naked. Which is also why he had chosen to leave his towel in the bathroom. Less of a hassle that way.

Bakura smirked at him and grasped his arm.

"You stole my cigarettes," he said, pulling Malik down onto the bed. "Not the smartest thing you've ever done."

"I hope you don't honestly consider this a punishment," Malik responded, smiling. Bakura smiled back.

"No," he said. "Consider it a thank you."

* * *

**Malik is four and a half months along.**

**(1) Smoking kills. Definitely would not recommend it to anyone reading this. Just figured I'd throw that out there.**

**So, yeah, kind of an early-ish update. I hope you enjoyed it, and review!**


	13. Chapter 12

Malik flopped down on the couch and groaned, a sound Bakura had become quite accustomed to hearing over the past few months. The white-haired spirit looked over at the teen.

"What's wrong this time?" he asked. Malik sighed and placed one hand against his swollen stomach.

"I'm hungry. Or rather, the baby is," he explained, frowning slightly. Bakura chuckled.

"And just what is it the baby wants?"

"I'm not sure. All I know is that it's driving me nuts and I can't eat anything else at the moment."

"Oh, really?" This could be trouble, Bakura knew. If Malik didn't eat something, it wouldn't be good for him or the baby. "Well, would you like me to make something for you?"

"Hm?" Malik glanced over at Bakura. "Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know...maybe a steak?" Bakura laughed as Malik swatted at him, trying to hit him but missing.

"You _know_ I'm a vegetarian, you creep!" he growled, glaring at the man he called his lover. Bakura smirked.

"Well, you are, but the child might not be. After all, you said yourself that the baby's hungry. So why can't he be hungry for something like a steak? It's simple logic, Malik."

Malik sighed and pulled one of the couch pillows over his face.

"You are no help at all, Bakura Akefia Touzokou." He peeked out at the spirit from under the pillow. "Why don't you make yourself useful and go buy some pickles and crackers or something?"

Bakura sighed.

"Alright, fine," he muttered, standing up. Malik smiled innocently at him.

"Thank you, Baku," he said sweetly.

"Yeah, whatever," Bakura replied, grabbing the car keys. "I'll have my cell phone in case you happen to remember what it is you're craving."

"Okay," Malik said. "Just be careful while you're driving. I don't want our daughter to have a father that's dead." Bakura chuckled.

"Don't worry, babe. I'll be back soon, okay?"

"I'll be here, waiting."

* * *

Bakura pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store just as his cell phone rang, blaring out some foolish song about red plastic cups that apparently liked to be alone **(1)**.

"That's the last time I allow Malik to choose a ringtone for me," Bakura muttered, answering the phone. "Yeah?"

"Bakura, I know what it is the baby wants now!" Malik said excitedly. Bakura rubbed his temples with his free hand.

"That's great, Malik. Would you mind telling me what it is, exactly?"

"Koshary! You need to call my sister and borrow the recipe from her."

"Wha- No! I am _not _going to call your sister just because some alien parasite in your stomach is controlling your mind to make you think you want...erm..."

"Koshary."

"Yes, that."

"Bakura, either you get my sister's recipe, or I'll lock you out of the house until you do!" Bakura couldn't help but smile at that.

"Malik, you _do_ realize that, as a master thief, I know how to break practically every type of lock known to man, right? Not to mention that since I kind of _live_ there, I know precisely where we keep the spare key?"

"...Please, Bakura? I have a really bad craving for koshary, and my sister's recipe is the best."

"Malik, you know that your sister and I don't get along. Even if I asked, she wouldn't give it to me."

"Please, Baku? Just try? It's not just for me, it's for the baby. Think of your child!"

Bakura sighed. There would be no convincing Malik out of this, it seemed. He wanted his strange Egyptian vegetable dish, or at least he claimed that the baby did.

"Alright, I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, Baku. I'm sure Isis will let you borrow her recipe for a little while."

"Yeah, and maybe the Pharoah will decide that Duel Monsters is a foolish children's card game."

"Bakura..."

"I know, I'll give your sister a call, okay?"

"Okay. I'll see you when you get back."

"Right. You owe me for this, though." Malik laughed.

"Alright, Bakura. We'll come up with something when you get home."

"Oh, I have at least three good ideas already," Bakura teased. "I'll see you in a little while." Bakura hung up his cell phone and let out a breath. Great. Of all the things Malik could be craving, he had to choose the one thing that would require Bakura to seek the assistance of his second worst enemy: Isis.

With a sigh, Bakura typed in the phone number. Might as well get this done and over with.

_"Of course," _Bakura thought, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel as he waited impatiently for someone to answer. _"They have caller i.d., so they might not even answer."_ He chuckled a bit at the thought, however, his merriment was broken when someone on the other end picked up.

"What do you want, Bakura?" It was Rishid, not Isis. Rishid wasn't exactly Bakura's favorite person, but he was much better than Isis.

"What, a man can't call his in-laws just to chat?" Bakura remarked sarcastically.

"We aren't in-laws. You and Malik aren't married." Bakura could almost see the tall, bald Egyptian deadpanning as he spoke. "What do you want?"

"Long story short, Malik wants me to borrow Isis's recipe for...aw, dammit, what was it? Something that began with a k..."

"Koshary?"

"Yes, that! He's been wanting some, but he can't find any good recipes, so he wants me to borrow Isis's recipe."

"...Alright, stop by in a few minutes and I'll give it to you. Isis is out at the moment."

"All...right..." Bakura was slightly taken aback by how quickly Rishid had agreed to hand over the recipe. He had been expecting Rishid to ask why Malik didn't go get it himself, or even why Malik didn't just ask Isis to make some for him. But Bakura wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. He hung up his cell phone and started driving to the house where Malik's siblings lived.

* * *

Rishid was waiting when he pulled up. Bakura climbed out of the car and approached the balding man. Rishid glanced at the car and shook his head.

"I'm not going to ask how you got that," he said.

"Where's the recipe?" Bakura demanded, not in the mood for idle chit-chat. Rishid handed him a piece of paper.

"I expect you've been taking care of my brother," he said. Bakura paused, taken by surprise by the question.

"Of course I have," he said. "Why do you ask?"

"Just remember, thief, if you do anything at all to hurt Malik, you will have me to answer to."

Normally Bakura would laugh at such a sad excuse for a threat, but the Egyptian man was at least a foot taller than him, and his tattooed face and bald head actually succeeded in making him look quite frightening indeed.

"I would never do anything to hurt Malik," Bakura insisted, not quite liking where this conversation was heading. "I must be going. Malik's waiting for me."

"You said you were going to adopt a child, didn't you?" Bakura hesitated. He _really_ didn't like where this conversation was going.

"Yes...we are planning on adopting one. It will be arriving in just a few more months."

"Is it a boy or a girl?"

"I...we don't know. We're going to find out when it arrives."

"Hm. And the nursery? Have you started working on that yet?"

"Well...no," Bakura admitted, starting to feel incredibly uncomfortable, a feeling he was definitely not used to. "I really have to be going-"

"What about the name?" Rishid stared down at Bakura. "Have you been considering and names for the child?"

"...Why the hell does this matter to _you_?" Bakura snapped. Just how much did Rishid know?

"So that's a no as well then." Rishid leaned down and stared at Bakura. "What makes you think that either of you can raise a child when you're just children yourselves? You can't even properly prepare in the months ahead for a child, how do you expect to be able to raise one?"

Bakura felt his temper flare up. He didn't know just how much Rishid knew, but no one told the Thief King when he was unable to do something.

"I don't _care_ what you think. This isn't your decision to make! I don't know why you care so much, but it's not your damn child, it's mine and Malik's and no one, especially not you, is going to tell us that we can't take care of it! You were even younger than he was when you started taking care of him and Isis, so I don't need you preaching to me about how we can't raise a child!"

With that, Bakura stalked back to the car and climbed in, slamming the door shut.

"Damn it!" he muttered. "What does that bald freak know? Nothing, that's what! Malik and I can raise a child, we don't need him telling us we can't!"

* * *

**(1) Okay, I love Toby Keith, but I just think that "Red Solo Cup", while being a very funny, catchy little tune that I haven't gotten out of my head for three days, is really, really stupid.**

**Malik is 4 and 1/2 months along.**

**Okay, the chapter and the ending is kinda rushed, I know, but I wanted to get out another chapter before the month ended, so I hope you enjoyed it anyway. Review?**


	14. Chapter 13

**Hey, I have another chapter here! Hope you all enjoy it!**

* * *

Bakura slammed the front door loudly. Malik rolled his eyes and glanced at his stomach.

"Daddy's home," he said with a small smile. He looked up as the pale spirit stormed past. "How did it go, Baku?"

"Next time, find a goddamn recipe on the Internet!" Bakura snapped, stomping upstairs. Malik rolled his eyes and got up from the couch, following his boyfriend upstairs.

"Okay, what happened?" he asked, leaning against the doorframe as Bakura flopped facedown on the bed. "Did Isis really give you that much trouble?"

"I didn't talk to her. It was your damn brother."

"Rishid? What did he do to piss you off?" Malik asked, raising one eyebrow. Bakura sighed and lifted his head, gesturing for Malik to sit down on the bed. Malik sat next to him and ran one hand through Bakura's hair.

"What happened, Baku?" he asked. Bakura hesitated a moment before responding.

"I think Rishid suspects something. He brought up the fact that we told him we were going to adopt a child, and he was asking me all sorts of questions like what we were going to name the kid and whether or not the nursery was ready, things like that. I couldn't answer any of his questions positively, and he asked me what made me think I could raise a child. I lost my temper a bit at that point." Malik smiled slightly.

"Well, Rishid always has looked out for me. I'm sure he's just worried about us."

"Worried? Dammit, Malik, he probably thinks I'm going to kill the freaking kid!" Bakura dropped his head down onto a pillow. "He doesn't think we can raise a child. He doesn't even think we can handle preparations for a child!" Malik smirked and laid down next to Bakura.

"Baku?" he said, leaning forward and nuzzling his lover's neck. "Instead of sitting here complaining about how Rishid thinks we don't have what it takes to raise a child, what do you say we start proving him wrong?" Bakura lifted his head and smirked down at Malik.

"I'd say that's not a bad plan, my dear," he said. "What do you say we start with the nursery?"

"I'd say it sounds great," Malik smiled, then yawned. "But what do you say first I take a nap while you make me some koshary?"

* * *

"You told me you wanted a white crib. Why are you suddenly changing your mind?"

"I just think a black crib would look nicer, is all."

Bakura sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Malik, no one is likely to see the crib except for us and the baby. And I doubt that a newborn will care about the color or style of the crib."

"Bakuraaaaaaaa!"

"Fine! I'll get a black crib, then! You had better damn well appreciate this. It's embarrassing enough that I have to go buy this stuff, but the fact that you made me drag along my host and the Pharoah's number one fan is just humiliating."

"Bakura, you do realize that Anzu and I can hear you, right?" Ryou asked. Ryou, Bakura, and Anzu were standing in the middle of a baby furniture store. Bakura was on his cell phone, in the midst of arguing with Malik, who had, at the last moment, decided that he wanted the baby's crib to be black instead of white and called Bakura on his cell phone. Needless to say, after spending two hours looking at horrendously overpriced cribs, Bakura wasn't too happy with the sudden change of plans.

"Bakura, please? Can't you just do this one little thing for me? Besides, I'm letting you pick out the wallpaper for the baby's room!"

"Yes, and you are rejecting every suggestion I make for that."

"Bakura, wallpaper involving Ancient Egyptian demons and spirits wouldn't be 'cute' like you said it would be, it would give the baby nightmares!"

"I would be unique. Much better than the cutesy wallpaper with the puppies and kittens you were fawning over."

"Bakura, I don't want our baby to have to sleep in a room that terrifies them!"

"How do you know it would scare the damn kid, Malik? Just because it scares you doesn't necessarily mean it'll scare the kid!"

Sensing the beginnings of an arguement, Ryou stepped forward.

"Bakura, people are staring. Maybe you should hang up so we can get what Malik wants?"

"Fine by me!" Bakura snapped. "Malik, I'm hanging up now!" With that, the spirit snapped his cell phone shut and ran one hand through his hair. "Ra! He's starting to get unbearable!"

"Remember, Bakura," Anzu spoke up, checking the price tag on one of the cribs. "This is more your fault than his."

"_My_ fault?" Bakura glared at the girl that he hadn't even wanted to bring along in the first place. "How the hell is it _my _fault?"

"It's simple logic, Bakura. Malik didn't get himself pregnant, someone else had to do it. You were on top the night the baby was concieved. Therefore, it's your fault that Malik is in this situation. Understand?"

"That's female logic," Bakura snapped. "It doesn't count. Don't bother checking the price on that crib, Malik told me he wants a black crib instead."

"Well, that's good. Mai and I were trying to tell him yesterday that black would look so much better than white. I'm glad he changed his mind," Anzu said nonchalantly, heading over to another section of cribs.

Bakura's eye twitched.

"You're the one who told Malik to choose a different crib?" he asked. Anzu nodded.

"Yup. We also told him that the rug should be yellow. It's a gender-neutral color and it's a soft color so it comforts some smaller children. We also told him that he should get yellow blankets for the same reason. Ah, here's a crib that'll be perfect. Malik will love this one."

Bakura groaned and rubbed his forehead.

"Anzu, I have a favor to ask of you."

"Yes?"

"Stop influencing my boyfriend!"

* * *

"No, don't put it that close to the window. There's a draft, and I don't want the baby to catch pneumonia."

"A little more to the left. ...No, _my_ left."

"Actually, scratch that, I liked it better to the right."

"Little more...little more...stop. That's perfect!"

Malik was sitting on the floor of the newly-decorated nursery with Ryou, instructing Bakura and Mariku on where to move the crib. After moving around the room for about an hour with the bulky object, the two psychopaths looked relieved to finally be able to put it down. Mariku sat down on the floor next to Ryou and kissed the pale hikari's cheek.

"Ryou, promise me that if we ever have kids, you won't put me through anything like this. Promise me you won't be as much of a girl as my hikari is."

"Hey!" Malik cried indignantly. Ryou smiled slightly.

"Don't worry, Mariku, we probably won't have kids anyway, so you don't have anything to worry about," he said. "And if someday we did decide to have a child, we would adopt a slightly older one, so we wouldn't have to put up with all of this."

"That's a relief," Mariku said. He stood up and extended one hand to Ryou. "Come on, let's get going before my hikari makes us do something else that requires me to move heavy things around for hours."

Ryou laughed and took the yami's hand, standing up.

"Okay, okay. I'll see you later, Malik."

"Alright. Thanks for coming to help out."

"You owe us," Mariku said before Ryou could respond. The insane Egyptian turned and walked out of the room. Shrugging, Ryou followed him.

"Mariku, that was rude!" Malik and Bakura smirked at each other as they heard Ryou reprimanding his lover.

"I'll never understand how Ryou can deal with him," Bakura commented. Malik smiled.

"Same way I deal with you. Patience, and great sex," he said. Bakura smirked.

"Which reminds me...we haven't done anything in a while, you know. I'm starting to worry that you don't think it's as great anymore."

"Perish the thought." Malik laughed as Bakura leaned over to nuzzle at his neck. "But _not_ in the baby's room!"

"It'll make the kid feel more comfortable," Bakura said. Malik laughed.

"I don't think so. Good try, though, babe." Malik stood up. "But if you're so eager, you can follow me."

With a smirk, Bakura got up and followed Malik, knowing exactly where the boy was going.

With a growl, Bakura pushed the laughing Egyptian down onto the bed. Malik wrapped his arms around Bakura's neck and kissed him.

"Bakura?"

"Mm?"

"I love you."

"I know."

Malik felt his chest ache slightly. He hadn't expected Bakura to say anything in return, but really, how hard could it be to say three little words? Bakura loved him, why couldn't he just say it out loud?

Hours later, Malik was curled against Bakura, half-asleep. He watched the rise and fall of his boyfriend's chest as the spirit slept. Malik tried to pass off the tears running down his face as another mood swing, but it seemed even the still-growing child inside of him knew this wasn't true.

* * *

**Review, please?**


	15. Chapter 14

**Hey, here's the next chapter! Sorry it took so long.**

**Warning: This chapter contains a lemon! Don't like it, don't read it!**

* * *

For once, when Bakura woke up, he felt quite unwilling to leave his dream. Usually he would have recurring nightmares about Kul Elna that he was quite happy to leave behind, but this dream was different. He was in his old body, and he had finally killed the Pharaoh. Malik had been there, looking the way he did when he first met Bakura, back when he didn't have to wear baggy shirts to conceal his ever-growing stomach, and they had fucked so many times in the short timespan of Bakura's dream that the spirit had awakened hornier than he had been in months. And that was saying something.

With a sigh, he rolled over and reached out to pull Malik closer, his dreams still fresh in his mind. Maybe he could talk Malik into a bit of _fun_ to help wake the boy up. Malik had never liked mornings, and Bakura usually would wake up to find him curled up under the blankets, refusing to move until he absolutely had to.

So you can imagine Bakura's surprise when, instead of meeting warm skin, his hand found the cool sheet that covered the mattress. That was certainly unusual. He opened his eyes. Malik wasn't there. And the bed wasn't warm, implying that he had just gotten up. He had been out of bed for a while.

"...The hell is he doing?" Bakura muttered, hearing the sound of a vacuum cleaner coming from downstairs. With a groan, he got up and stretched.

"Maybe I can convince him to have sex on the kitchen table," he muttered, scratching his head. Shrugging, he headed downstairs. He paused on the bottom step. Malik was pushing a vacuum around, muttering something under his breath. He glanced up and smiled when he heard Bakura clear his throat.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey. Since when do you wake up before me?" Bakura asked, pushing his hair out of his face.

"Since I somehow had a sudden urge to clean the entire house. I just can't stop cleaning," Malik replied.

"_Cleaning? The Pharaoh mentioned something about that once..."_ Bakura thought. "_What was it? ...Oh, that's right." _

"Nesting stage?" he asked. Malik nodded.

"That's what I was thinking. It was bound to happen sooner or later."

Bakura sighed.

"So I take it this means no sex on the table?" he asked. Malik raised one eyebrow.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Nevermind," Bakura muttered. "Do you want me to help you clean?"

"No. I got it. Besides, you hate cleaning, Baku." Bakura shrugged.

"Just figured I should offer," he said, stepping off the stairs and heading for the kitchen. "I'm going to go make some coffee. You want any?"

"No. Lately the stuff makes me want to vomit. The taste and the smell. I guess the baby doesn't like it very much."

Bakura inwardly bristled.

"Well I guess I won't make it then," he said in a strained voice. Malik looked at him innocently.

"I never said you couldn't make it. I just said I didn't want any."

"Yes, but by saying the smell of it makes you feel sick, you were implying that I shouldn't make any at all."

"I never said you shouldn't make your damn coffee, Bakura. Why are you being so difficult?"

"_I'm _being difficult?" Bakura stared at Malik. "How the hell am _I_ being difficult?"

"You know what, nevermind." Malik shook his head and looked down at his stomach. "I hope you don't turn out half as stubborn as Daddy, little one. We'd have some serious problems."

"What?" Bakura couldn't believe this. Either Malik was in the midst of yet another mood swing, or he was pissing Bakura off on purpose. And Bakura had a feeling it was the latter.

"Hey, now that I think about it, there is something you could do to help me out!" Malik smiled and grabbed Bakura's hand. "C'mon, in the basement."

The Egyptian dragged the spirit of the Ring down to the basement, ignoring the grumbles coming from the pale man.

"Could you unload the laundry machine and hang up the clothes for me?" Malik asked, smiling sweetly. Bakura frowned. Malik stood on tiptoe and kissed him.

"Thanks, Baku!" he said, skipping back upstairs. Bakura stared after him, trying to piece together what, exactly, had just happened.

"I got out of bed for sex, not laundry duty," he muttered. "I thought that being pregnant meant he would be more hormonal. Damn. And of course, he would have thrown out my last pack of cigarettes last night, so I can't even use that to calm me down. Double damn." With a sigh, he started loading up the laundry basket.

"Thank you, Bakura!" Malik called over the vacuum cleaner when Bakura came back upstairs. "There's already some clothes hanging up, could you bring them in, please? I can sort and fold them when I finish this."

"Yeah, whatever," Bakura mumbled. Malik was acting overly _perky_ and it was driving him _insane_.

"_Goddamn moodswings,"_ he thought as he headed outside. _"My life will be easier when this is all over. But by that time, the brat will be here. So maybe my life won't be 'easier' after all."_

Bakura grumbled to himself as he started hanging up the wet clothes and pulling the dry clothes off the line.

"It could be worse, I suppose," he told himself. "Otogi could be out here with his little rat-dog. Which reminds me, I should probably look into getting that fence built. Malik will cut my head off if it's not built by the time the brat's born. Hm?" Bakura glanced up as the sky suddenly darkened. Dark, angry-looking clouds were starting to gather in the sky.

"...Looks like a storm's going to start soon," Bakura said. He smirked. "I might just get laid today, after all."

* * *

The rain started just a few hours later, sprinkling lightly at first, but quickly becoming a torrential downpour. Malik stared out the window at the dark skies.

"Where the hell did that come from?" he asked. Bakura shrugged.

"Don't ask me, I missed all of Ryou's earth science classes. The sky was getting cloudy earlier, though, when I was hanging the clothes up."

"Then why did you hang them up? Why didn't you bring them back in if you knew it was going to rain? They're soaked by now, Bakura!"

"Uh, I'm a guy?"

"So am I, Bakura, but at least I know that when it rains, clothes usually get wet, especially when they're hanging up outside!"

Bakura threw his hands up and turned for the door.

"Fine, fine, I'll go and get them!"

"No!" Malik grabbed the back of Bakura's t-shirt. "Don't bother. I'll go get them later, when the rain lets up a little."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I don't want you going outside in this weather."

"Oh?" Bakura smirked. "Why not? It wouldn't have anything to do with your fear of thunder, now, would it?" Malik glared at him.

"I'm not afraid of thunder." As if on cue, a faint rumble echoed through the house. Malik flinched slightly and tightened his grip on Bakura's shirt until the sound faded away. Bakura's smirk grew.

"Not afraid of thunder, huh?"

"Hmph." Malik dropped Bakura's shirt and headed for the stairs. "I'm going to take a nap." Thunder rumbled again, louder and closer this time. Malik was suddenly behind Bakura, his face pressed into the spirit's shirt.

"On second thought, nevermind. I'll stay down here with you."

"No, no." Bakura turned around. "I think a nap is just what you need. In fact, I may even join you." He stepped closer to Malik, eyes narrowing. "If you get my drift."

Malik gulped and looked down at his stomach. The baby kicked, almost as if to say, '_Go ahead! It'll take your mind off the storm and put me to sleep! What more do you need?'_

Another rumble of thunder made up Malik's mind. He pressed his face into Bakura's shirt and nodded.

"Okay," he murmured. "That's fine." Bakura grinned and scooped Malik up. The Egyptian squeaked at the sudden movement.

"I can walk, you know," he mumbled. Bakura simply smiled.

"This is so you don't freak out when the thunder comes along," he said.

"I don't freak out," Malik said. "I get startled. Totally different." Bakura laughed.

"Besides," he said, kicking open the bedroom door. "I thought you liked it when I carried you."

"I do, but I can still walk on my own," Malik replied as Bakura laid him down on the bed. Bakura crawled onto the bed, leaning over Malik.

"Think this'll take your mind off the thunder?" he asked, leaning down to kiss Malik.

"Mmm." The Egyptian wrapped his arms around the spirit's neck. "Hopefully it'll keep the baby calm too." Chuckling, Bakura moved down to Malik's stomach. Pushing the boy's shirt up, he leaned close and spoke to his swollen tummy.

"You keep calm in there, okay? Don't make Mommy too uncomfortable or else Daddy gets punished for it."

Malik laughed.

"You're crazy, Baku," he said. "But I guess I'm stuck with you."

"And don't you forget it." Bakura moved back up to Malik's face, nipping gently at his neck. "No more talking." Malik closed his eyes and nodded. He could almost feel his hormones taking control as Bakura started kissing his throat. He shifted slightly as Bakura pulled at his shirt, lifting his arms in order to get it over his head. Sitting up, he pushed Bakura back, pulling off the pale man's shirt.

Malik paused as thunder rumbled once again. He pressed his face into Bakura's pale chest, trying to calm himself by listening to his lover's heartbeat. He flinched slightly in surprise when he felt Bakura's arms encircle him.

"It's just thunder, Malik," Bakura murmured. "It won't hurt you."

"I know," Malik replied. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, Malik," Bakura gently pushed Malik down on his back. "You can't help being afraid of something." Leaning down, he kissed Malik gently. "Just ignore the thunder. Focus on me, okay?"

Blushing slightly, Malik nodded.

"Okay."

With a small smile, Bakura leaned down and took one of Malik's nipples in his teeth. Malik hissed sharply and pushed Bakura away.

"Don't. Not there." He lowered his voice slightly at the look of mild confusion on Bakura's face. "They're, um...sensitive at the moment. It's kinda painful." Understanding dawned on Bakura's face.

"Sorry," he muttered. "I won't touch them." Malik shifted slightly. This foreplay was not going well so far.

Wrapping his arms around Bakura's neck, he pulled the pale spirit down, kissing him deeply. They opened their mouths against each other's, Malik twisting his tongue around Bakura's and pulling it into his mouth. With a low groan, Bakura started slowly rolling his hips, grinding against Malik. Malik moaned softly and pushed upwards, his own hips meeting Bakura's. They parted for air a few moments later, panting slightly.

Malik sighed and rolled his head back.

"This is better," he murmured, tugging at Bakura's pants. With a chuckle, Bakura helped him take of both of their pants, so they were just wearing their boxers.

"Hush," he ordered. Malik nodded and closed his eyes, sighing contently as Bakura rubbed his stomach. He opened his eyes slightly as Bakura bent down and gently kissed his stomach.

"Bakura," he whispered. Bakura looked up. Malik smiled slightly. "The baby's trying to sleep." Bakura smirked and dragged his tongue across Malik's stomach, dipping it into his belly button slightly.

"Sorry," he said. "Shall we help him with that?" Malik smiled and wrapped his arms around Bakura's neck.

"Sound like a plan to me," he murmured, kissing Bakura deeply as the pale spirit quickly disposed of their boxers. He let out a quiet groan when he felt Bakura slip two fingers inside him. He shifted slightly to allow his body to accomodate the intrusion as Bakura scissored his fingers in the tight area. When Malik rolled his hips, indicating he had been prepared enough, Bakura removed his fingers and pressed his erection to Malik's entrance.

He entered Malik just as thunder roared again, loud enough to shake the entire house. With a yelp, Malik shot up, clinging to Bakura and pressing his face against the spirit's shoulder.

"Steady," Bakura murmured, running his hands across Malik's back comfortingly. "I'm right here." Malik trembled, taking deep breaths to calm himself. Bakura nuzzled his neck gently.

"Tell me when you're ready," he whispered. He was going crazy, fighting the urge to move. With a low groan, Malik nodded and moved his hips slightly, silently asking Bakura to move. Smirking, Bakura thrust his hips upwards. Malik let out a strangled groan and pressed his face closer to Bakura's shoulder. Bakura gently laid Malik down on his back and kissed him as he thrust again. Malik gripped Bakura's back and hooked one leg around Bakura's waist.

"Faster," he murmured. Bakura obliged, thrusting harder into Malik. Malik moaned softly, digging his nails into Bakura's shoulders. Thunder rumbled low, but Malik hardly heard it as Bakura continued to pound into him. Malik soon caught the rhythm and began to move in time with Bakura's thrusts.

Sweat clung to both of their bodies as they neared their climax. Bakura panted against Malik's throat, biting at the tanned skin. Malik's nails dug into Bakura's shoulders as he finally let go, releasing over their chests. Bakura came shortly after, continuing to thrust until they were both completely finished.

Pulling out, Bakura laid down beside Malik and pulled him close. The storm was almost over by now, the thunder miles away.

"Thank you, Bakura," Malik murmured, snuggling closer to his lover. Bakura tightened his grip around Malik, feeling the slightest fleeting feeling of guilt for using Malik's fear to satisfy his own desires.

"You should rest," Bakura said. "You woke up pretty early this morning."

"The clothes are still out on the line," Malik replied with a yawn. Bakura kissed the top of his head.

"I'll get them later," he said softly. "You need to sleep."

"Mmm..." Malik closed his eyes, nodding off. Bakura smiled slightly. How Malik always managed to look so cute in his sleep, especially after sex, he would never know. Not that he exactly complained about it.

Glancing down at Malik's stomach, Bakura briefly considered checking on the baby, to make sure everything was still alright, but decided against it. Ever since Yami had told them that the baby now had a definite gender, he had avoided checking in on the child, so he didn't accidently see the gender. Not really because he agreed with Malik about arguing about the gender being fun, moreso because he just didn't care.

Or so he told himself. After all, he was Bakura Touzokou, King of Thieves. He didn't care about anyone or anything.

Malik murmured something in his sleep, snuggling closer to Bakura. The spirit looked down at him and smiled.

_"Well,"_ he thought. _"Maybe caring about just one or two people isn't such a bad thing."_

* * *

**Like it? Hate it? Want more of the story? Please leave a review! =)**


	16. Chapter 15

**So, here is a new, shiny chapter for you! Sorry about the wait!**

* * *

"And here is the nursery - the finished edition!" Malik opened the door to the baby's room and stepped aside to let Ryou - who was visiting for the day - enter. Ryou stepped in the room and looked around.

"Wow, it looks really nice, Malik," he commented. "The baby will love it!"

"I sure hope so," Malik replied, entering the room and glancing around with a smile. It wasn't as if he hadn't seen the nursery a million times before. Once he and Bakura had finally agreed on wallpaper - pyramid-themed - it seemed he was always finding a new excuse to go up and look. In his mind, the nursery was perfect. In Bakura's mind, it was just another room.

"So, Malik." Ryou turned to the Egyptian with a question in his eyes. "If you don't mind me asking, what's it like? You know, being pregnant?"

"Well..." Malik glanced towards the door, as if he were expecting Bakura to suddenly be there, listening to every word. Seeing no one, he sat on the floor with a sigh.

"It's definitely not a walk in the park," he admitted. "Some days I don't even wanna get out of bed, but I eventually have to because either the baby's kicking me, or I have to clean something, or something like that."

"How do you feel? Everyday, I mean?" Ryou asked, sitting on the floor next to Malik. Malik sighed again and flopped down onto his back, staring at the ceiling.

"Tired. Achy. Sick, even though the morning sickness has been gone for a while now. But mostly..." Malik smiled. "I'm happy. Really, really happy." He placed one hand against his swelling stomach and grinned. "I honestly don't even care whether it's a boy or a girl anymore. I just can't wait for it to show up."

"But, won't the labor be terribly painful? I've heard some awful stories about labor..."

Malik shook his head slightly.

"Yami's gonna do a c-section before the baby's born. He told me he'd do it a few days before the due date, so we don't have to worry about the baby being hurt by coming out too early," he explained. Yami had offered this solution when Bakura had, a few weeks prior, expressed concern about _how_, exactly, was the baby supposed to get here? Malik didn't have a birth canal, and there was no way it was coming out the same way it went in. The idea of cutting Malik open and pulling the baby out that way hadn't seemed to appeal to Bakura too much, but eventually he decided that it would be the best way.

"That's good. At least the baby will be born safely," Ryou said. He glanced at Malik's stomach before looking at the ground. "I kinda envy you, you know..." he admitted. Malik blinked at him.

"Why?"

"It's just...you'll be a great parent, because even though your father was a creep and a jerk, you still had Isis and Rishid to raise you and be good role models so you would know how to take care of children. My father..." Ryou drew his knees up to his chest. "He means well, and I know he still cares about me, but...when my mother and sister died, he just...retreated. He didn't seem to want to do anything except for work and the only times he would carry on a conversation with me was when he was in some other country and couldn't talk for very long because of the cost of the phone call. And then I got the Millennium Ring, and Bakura messed up so much for me..." Ryou sighed and ran one hand through his snowy white hair. "My childhood was just so screwed up. I don't think I'd even know how to raise a child. I haven't told Mariku this yet, but he's been dropping hints, and I don't have the heart to tell him that I don't want kids, because I wouldn't be able to raise them right."

Malik shifted uncomfortably on the floor, unsure of what to say. He halfway wished it was Bakura or Mariku having this conversation instead of him.

"Well, um...for what it's worth, you're nothing like your dad," he offered, stratching his head. Ryou shook his head and smiled slightly.

"Thanks, Malik, but that would work much better if you had actually ever _met_ my father."

Whoops. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Ryou sighed. "You're a lot braver than I am, too. I wouldn't have the mental strength to, being a male, carry a baby to full term and then deliver it."

"Seahorses do it all the time," Malik commented with a half-smile. Ryou laughed.

"Touche."

Malik smiled and looked back down at his stomach.

"I'm really not as brave as you think, Ryou. I'm actually pretty scared - about a lot of things. What if the baby comes early, what if something goes wrong, what if he or she is embarrassed to have two fathers, what if they don't like me or Bakura...there's a lot of stuff I worry about, all the time." Malik grunted just then and glared down at his stomach. "Then the little demon starts kicking me and I can't wait for it to be out!" Ryou started laughing.

"Sounds like you're pretty excited," he said. Malik smiled and rubbed his stomach gently.

"Yeah...I'd say I am."

* * *

Bakura turned and glanced up the stairs for what Mariku wagered to be the fifth hundredth time in five minutes.

"Bakura, Malik just went to show Ryou the nursery. If something was wrong, Ryou would come tell us," Mariku said in the slow voice one normally uses when explaining something to small children. He smirked. "Unless you're worried that they're fucking up there?"

Bakura snapped back around to a front-facing position, glaring daggers at the Egyptian yami.

_"Oh, man, if looks could kill," _Mariku thought with a grin. _This_ was the best friend he remembered, not the constantly worried, always checking in on his boyfriend, paranoid freak that had possessed him.

"As if Malik would ever do something like that! Don't even _joke_ about something so sick, you idiot! Besides, even if they were, wouldn't you be upset with Ryou for cheating on you?"

Mariku shrugged.

"Not really. I'd probably take pictures to blackmail him in the future, or to jack off to, so it really wouldn't bother me too much. Plus I know that Ryou would never actually cheat on me, so I'd have no reason to be upset."

"Whatever, psycho," Bakura muttered, glancing back at the stairs again. Mariku sighed in frustration.

"Would you stop doing that? Malik's fine! I would know if something was wrong with him!"

"You can't fault me for being worried about him!" Bakura snapped. "I'm supposed to take care of him, I don't want him to get hurt!"

"You know something, Baka-ra? You were a hell of a lot more fun before you knocked-up Malik. Now you've gotten boring. You won't even come out and kill innocent people with me anymore, and it's no fun by myself!"

"I have a responsibility now, Mariku. You just don't understand."

"You have no responsibilities yet! The brat hasn't been born, you still have around three and a half good months left before you have to start being responsible!"

"Oh, yes, because I would just love to have Malik constantly hanging the fact that I was absent throughout the course of the pregnancy over my head!"

"You used to be fun, Baka-ra. Now you're starting to become what neither of us ever wanted to become!" Mariku lowered his voice to a horrified whisper. "A responsible member of society!"

Bakura stared at Mariku for a few moments before tipping his head back against the back of the couch and laughing hysterically.

"Alright, you have me there," he admitted. "Before the baby's born, I promise we'll go out and kill someone, okay?'

"You really think one night of murder and mayhem is going to make up for you abandoning me for months?" Mariku asked.

"Isn't it?"

"No, but it's close. Hand over the Ring and Rod like you promised all those months ago and we're even."

"Damn. Thought you'd forgotten," Bakura said, pulling the Items out from between the couch cushions and tossing them at Mariku. "Malik thought I had handed them over a while ago, but I wasn't willing to hand them over so easily."

"You seemed to give them up pretty fast just now."

"Well..." Bakura folded his arms behind his head and leaned back. "It's getting closer to the time the baby's due-"

"Yeah, three and a half months," Mariku snorted.

"-and I figured that if I didn't get rid of them soon it might pose a problem for when the baby learns to climb and crawl and things like that, so I figured I'd best get rid of them while I have the chance to," Bakura continued, as if Mariku hadn't spoken at all. The Egyptian rolled his eyes.

"Ugh, you are so _boring_!" he complained.

"You had better not be talking about _me_, Mariku," Ryou commented, following Malik down the stairs. Immediately, the psycho perked up.

"Of course not, Ryou," he said as the pale hikari walked over to him. "You'd never be boring."

"Glad to hear it," Ryou smiled and sat down on Mariku's lap, snuggling against him.

"So what brings you two back downstairs?" Bakura asked as Malik sat down next to him.

"Mm, we got bored, so we decided to see what you guys were up to," Malik said, cuddling up against Bakura. "I hope we aren't bothering you."

"Not at all, hon," Bakura said, draping one arm around Malik and gently rubbing his stomach with his free hand. Malik smiled slightly before noticing Mariku staring at his stomach with a confused expression on his face. Malik rolled his eyes.

"You can touch it if you want, Mariku," he said. Mariku looked horrified, an expression that didn't suit him.

"No way! That's creepy!" he protested. "Not to mention the fact that Bakura would break my hand if I tried!"

"Damn right I would," Bakura muttered, tightening his grip on Malik. Malik blinked up at him innocently and smiled. Mariku kept staring at Malik's stomach.

"So there's actually a baby in there?" he asked. Malik snickered.

"Unless Yami's been lying to us and it's actually a tumor that moves and kicks and makes me have cravings, yes, there is a baby in there," he said.

"How does it even fit?" Mariku asked.

"Do you not see how huge I am right now?" Malik cried, gesturing to his stomach. "It fits because it keeps making room for itself!"

"...What's it like having sex knowing there's a baby in there?"

"Okay, conversation over!" Bakura glared at Mariku, keeping one arm protectively wrapped around his lover. "Why all the questions all of a sudden, Mariku?"

"I'm just curious!" Mariku protested. "You can't blame me for wanting to know things!"

"Oh, I think I can."

Ryou bit his lip and glanced back and forth between his yami and his lover. He glanced at Malik, who nodded slightly. With a sigh, Ryou stood up and took Mariku's hand.

"Mariku, we should go," he said softly. "Bakura and Malik probably want to be alone."

"Do we have to?" Mariku whined. Ryou smiled slightly and nodded.

"Yeah, we do," he said. Mariku sighed and stood up.

"Alright. Bakura, don't forget you promised we'd go out and kill someone before your demon spawn's born," he said, leading Ryou to the door. Bakura rolled his eyes, stroking Malik's hair.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he said. "Be careful with those Items. If there's anyone who shouldn't be a parent, it's you."

"Look who's talking," Mariku shot back, opening the door. "See ya later."

"Bye, Ryou," Malik called. "Come back soon."

"Bye, Malik!" Ryou replied as he followed his lover out of the house. Once they were gone, Malik laid his head down in Bakura's lap and groaned.

"You okay?" Bakura asked, brushing a lock of sandy blonde hair off of Malik's face. Malik smiled slightly.

"Just tired. Ryou revealed to me that he never wants kids and kept going on about how I'm a braver person than he is. I didn't have the heart to tell him..." Malik sighed and sat up, crawling into Bakura's lap. "I'm scared out of my wits." Bakura held Malik close, stroking his hair.

"You know I'm here for you," he murmured.

"I know, but I'm still scared. You can understand why, can't you?"

Bakura nodded.

"Of course I can, hon. I understand." Bakura stood and gently lifted Malik up bridal-style. "You should get some sleep. It's actually pretty late."

"Mmm." Malik snuggled against Bakura's chest and closed his eyes.

_"Bakura, I love you so much,"_ he thought as he was carried upstairs. _"And I know you'll be a great father to our baby, but I'm so scared. There's so much that might happen. I hope you'd stay with me, but..."_

"Baku?" Malik mumbled, already half-asleep. Bakura paused, setting Malik down on the bed.

"What?" he whispered. Malik forced his eyes open slightly and looked up at Bakura.

"Will you stay with me? No matter what happens?" Bakura stared at Malik. Bending down, he pressed his lips against Malik's.

"Malik, I promise I would never abandon you. This is my responsibility just as much as it is yours. I'm not going to up and leave you, okay? I promise." Malik smiled sleepily and closed his eyes, slipping into a deep sleep. With a sigh, Bakura walked to his side of the bed and laid down, wrapping his arms around Malik and pulling him as close as he could before the boy's stomach got in the way.

_"Why would he ask something like that?"_ he wondered. _"Does he really think I would leave him? What reason would I have to leave him?"_

Malik murmured slightly in his sleep, causing Bakura to look down at him. Unwillingly, his eyes were immediately drawn to his lover's large stomach.

_"Okay, maybe I am a little worried. Maybe I'm not exactly ready to be a father. But everything will be okay. And he should know that. I'm going to take care of him and our child. Nothing will change that."_

Bakura tightened his grip around Malik and kissed the boys forehead before drifting off to sleep himself.

* * *

**Malik is six and a half months along.**

**So, I would like to apologize for the lateness (and overall crappiness) of this chapter, but I promise next chapter will be up sooner and hopefully be better than this one. If you somehow enjoyed this one anyway, please leave a review for me!**


	17. Chapter 16

**Yo, ffnet, Imma let you finish, but if you touch my babies I will just keep putting them right back up. So there.**

* * *

Malik opened the curtains, earning a moan from the man lying on the bed.

"Warn me next time," Bakura groaned. Malik smirked.

"You brought this upon yourself, hon," he said, sitting on the bed next to Bakura. "You should know by now that when you drink, you get a hangover the next day. Especially if you get as drunk as you were yesterday."

Bakura rubbed his forehead, but that did nothing to ease his pounding headache. If anything, it only succeeded in worsening it.

"Fuck, I don't even remember what the hell happened," he mumbled. Malik smiled and ran one hand through Bakura's hair. The motion certainly didn't help his headache, but Bakura closed his eyes at the touch.

"Mariku happened," Malik said. "He came over here yesterday whining about how you promised him you two would hang out before the baby was due, and how I was eight months along now and you still hadn't hung out like you promised, so you went to spend the day with him. You got home at about three-thirty am drunk off your ass. You woke me up from the first good night's sleep I've had in weeks," he finished, raising an accusatory eyebrow at the spirit. Bakura sighed.

"Sorry," he muttered. "I don't even remember going to a bar, but we must've at some point. Wait...I do remember Mariku saying something about the lack of alcohol in our house and suggesting we do something about it..."

"Hey, you and I both agreed that we would stop buying alcohol until the baby's at least 12 months old!" Malik protested.

"Yeah, I know, I know." Bakura sighed. "I'm sorry I came home drunk and woke you up so late. Happy?" Malik smirked, leaning down to kiss Bakura's forehead.

"I actually wasn't all that upset in the first place. All you wanted to do was talk about the baby." He laughed slightly at the expression on Bakura's face. "And since you probably don't remember, I'll tell you that we decided on the baby's name last night, too."

"We did?" Bakura asked cautiously. He started to worry slightly, wondering what kind of names he could possibly have come up with whilst inebriated. Malik smiled and nodded.

"You wanna know what we decided on?" he asked. Bakura nodded. "Well, if it's a girl we're going to name her Cleopatra, and if it's a boy his name will be Yukio."

Bakura let out a sigh of relief.

"Well, I definitely don't remember that happening," he admitted. "But I'm glad it did, because it just means we don't have to worry anymore about names. Now that I think about it, it most likely did happen, since I was leaning more towards Yukio for a boy's name, anyway."

Malik smiled and rubbed his stomach gently. At a little less than eight months along, he felt about ready to explode, but he had to admit that things were falling into place. The name was picked out, the nursery was ready, there was a bassinet in their bedroom for when the baby was still a newborn, and with Anzu and Mai constantly bringing new clothes and toys for the baby, Malik could guarantee that his baby would be the most spoiled child in all of Domino City. Things were going perfectly.

Almost too perfectly.

Malik leaned down and kissed Bakura's forehead as the phone rang.

"I'll bring you some tea and asprin after I answer the phone," he said. Bakura nodded, pulling the blanket over his head to block out the worst of the sunlight that was pouring in from the window. Ra, his head fucking _hurt_.

Malik laughed and picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Malik? I've actually managed to catch you on the first try, and not that lazy, greedy, good-for-nothing thief?"

"Hello, Isis, nice to talk to you too," Malik said in a monotone.

"Malik, please don't take it personally. You know Rishid and I love you, but we just hate Bakura."

"Yes, I know, you tell me this everytime I see you! Goodbye, Isis!"

"No, Malik, don't hang up. Please." Malik hesitated. He didn't like the way Isis talked about Bakura, but he genuinely missed his sister and brother. Glancing at Bakura's unmoving form under the covers, Malik sighed.

"Fine. What is it?"

"We haven't seen you in such a long time. Is everything okay, brother?"

"Yes, sis, everything's fine." Already able to guess where the conversation was heading, Malik continued. "And it's not like I haven't wanted to come and visit, it's just...we've been busy lately and I haven't had any time to go and visit."

"Well, are you busy today?" Isis asked, obviously trying (and failing) to keep a hopeful note out of her voice. Malik sighed and placed one hand on his stomach.

"Sis, this isn't really a good time. Things are kind of...complicated...over here right now."

"Are you having problems with Bakura? You know you can move back in with us if-"

"Isis, everything's fine with Bakura. I love him, and I'm not moving back in with you. I know you think I'm too young, but I can handle myself."

"Oh." There was a pause and then Isis began speaking again, this time using her no-nonsense, whatever-I-say-goes voice. "Well if you can't come over here to visit, we'll just have to go over to your house."

Malik froze. The baby inside of him shifted, an unneccesary reminder of the big problem that couldn't be hidden by simply wearing a baggy shirt this time.

"Um, sis, this really isn't the best time..." Malik said nervously. "Um..." He racked his mind for an excuse, his gaze settling on Bakura, who was still buried under the blankets. "Bakura's sick, and I need to take care of him."

"Bakura's a big boy, Malik. If you can take care of yourself, he can take care of himself for one day."

"But, sis, I...I haven't cleaned the house in a while. Everything's all dirty, I don't want you to see that!"

"Malik, I lived underground in a tomb, too, remember? I can handle a bit of dirt."

"But-"

"Rishid and I will be over in a couple of hours, Malik."

"But, Isis-" Dial tone was his only response. Malik quickly hung up the phone and pulled the blankets off of Bakura.

"Get up," he said. "My brother and sister are coming over."

"...What?" Bakura asked. He had somehow managed to doze off while Malik had been on the phone, and he hadn't quite expected to be awoken in such a way.

"That was Isis who called. She was complaining that I haven't gone to visit in a while and now she's coming over here!"

"What?" Bakura sat upright and grabbed Malik's shoulders. "Dammit, why didn't you tell her no?"

"I tried to, but she wouldn't listen!" Malik gripped Bakura's t-shirt as if it were a lifeline. "Bakura, what are we going to do? I can't just wear a t-shirt to cover it up, I can barely even wear a t-shirt as it is!"

"Calm down, Malik." Bakura pried the Egyptian's fingers off of his shirt. "You'll upset the baby."

Malik took a deep breath trying to calm himself down.

"I can't just call her back and tell her not to come," he muttered, half to himself. "She'll either want to know why or won't take no for an answer. And I can't just hide all day, either, and leave you to entertain them. They're coming to see me, not you." Malik sighed and placed one hand on his stomach. "I guess there's no other choice..."

"Malik, you are not actually going to _tell_ them, are you?" Bakura demanded. Damn, his headache was getting even worse.

"It's not like I have that much of a choice, Bakura," Malik said. "Besides, maybe it's better this way. I mean, they'll find out sooner or later, when the baby looks just like us. It's probably better that we tell them now as opposed to them finding out later."

Bakura let out a harsh, bitter laugh.

"Malik, I think you're forgetting one little thing. Your brother and sister _hate_ me. If they find out I knocked you up, they're going to start to hate me even more. Who knows, your sister may even kill me."

"Bakura, you're not going to make me face this by myself. I thought you said that you'd always be there for me, _honey_." Bakura sighed.

"Fine, forget it. Go get me some asprin before your damn sister shows up and ends my life. If I'm going to die, I at least don't want my head to hurt."

"Fine." Malik stood up and started for the bedroom door, obviously miffed at Bakura.

"Malik." The Egyptian paused. "I'm sorry."

"...It's okay, Bakura. I'm worried, too. But I'm tired of keeping her a secret. I'll get you something for your head and we can talk about what we'll do."

"You mean you're tired of keeping _him_ a secret!" Bakura called, wincing as his own voice rang in his ears.

* * *

Isis knocked on the door of Malik's house and waited. Rishid stood behind her.

"Isis," he said. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"I don't like the thought of Malik living alone with _him_," Isis said. "You can't fault me for checking up on him. Normally you agree with me. Why are you suddenly so reluctant to visit Malik?"

"No reason," Rishid said. "But he's a growing boy. He's going to want his privacy and if we keep sticking our noses in, he'll end up hating us."

"I know. But he's already been led astray too much. I just want him to stay out of trouble. Malik!" Isis called. "We're here!"

The door opened, but it was Bakura standing in the doorway instead of Malik. Frowning, he stepped to one side and let Malik's siblings enter. Isis frowned at him.

"Malik told me you were sick. I was rather hoping you wouldn't join us."

"Well, I happened to make a spur-of-the-moment, miraculous recovery when I heard you were coming to visit, Isis-chan."

"Hmph." Isis breezed past Bakura and entered the living room. Malik was standing behind the couch and smiled slightly when his sister walked in.

"Hey, sis," he said. "Have a seat." He gestured to a couple of chairs that Bakura had dragged out. Isis sat down and smiled at Malik.

"I didn't know that Bakura would be joining us, Malik," she said pointedly, raising an eyebrow as Bakura sat down on the couch in front of Malik. Malik bit his lip and took Bakura's hand.

"Well, I kind of needed him here. I know you don't like him, but I needed the moral support...for when I told you guys..."

"Told us what?" Isis asked, immediately concerned for her younger brother. Was he sick, dying, in some kind of trouble? Had he - Ra forbid - gotten _arrested_? Isis glanced at Rishid, who, to her surprise, didn't look nearly as anxious as she did. Rather, he almost looked like someone was about to reveal something that he already knew about, but didn't want to say he knew.

"Malik, what is it you want to tell us?" Isis asked, feeling it was taking too long for her brother to answer.

"Isis, remember a few months ago when Bakura and I said we were adopting a child?"

"Yes..."

"Well...that's not exactly what's going on. There will be a child around here soon, but not from adoption."

Taking a deep breath, Malik stepped out from the protection of the couch. Isis's eyes grew round at the sight of Malik's swollen stomach.

"Isis, Rishid, I'm pregnant."

* * *

**And boom. Cliffhanger. Hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter almost as much as I enjoyed typing it. Because believe me, it was fun to type.**

**Review if you like?**


	18. Chapter 17

**Hey, all. Sorry for not updating for a while, but as you can see, I'm now back, with a bright new shiny chapter for your patience! I hope you all enjoy it.**

* * *

As expected, Isis immediately blew up.

"WHAT?" she yelled, jumping out of her chair. Malik took a step back.

"Uh, yeah. Surprise?" he said nervously. Isis glared at Bakura.

"What did you do to my brother?!" she demanded. Bakura rolled his eyes.

"I would think that from this revelation it would be obvious," he said. Malik sat down next to Bakura and slipped his hand into the spirit's.

"Isis, please don't be mad. It's not Bakura's fault."

"You tell me something like this and expect me not to be mad?!" Malik bit his lip and looked down.

"Well, it would help if you wouldn't yell..." he muttered. Bakura glanced at him. Malik was glaring at the ground with tears in his eyes. Unable to tell if it was just a mood swing or if it was due to Isis's reaction, Bakura wrapped his arm around Malik's shoulders and pulled him down so the blonde's head was resting against his shoulder.

"Isis, if you're going to yell, may I suggest you leave until you've calmed down a bit? Yelling isn't good for the baby," he said, glaring at the Egyptian woman. She glared right back.

"This is all _your_ fault!" she yelled. "If you hadn't corrupted my brother, he wouldn't be in this mess!"

"Isis." Rishid stepped up and placed his hands on Isis's shoulders. "Try to calm down. I hate to admit it, but Bakura's right. Yelling isn't good for Malik or for their baby."

"How can you be so calm at a time like this?" Isis demanded. "Our brother is pregnant because of..._that_-" she gestured to Bakura with disdain. "And you aren't even saying anything."

"That's because, while I may not approve of this, they're doing the right thing. They're keeping the child and, in spite of all his flaws, Bakura is choosing to stay with Malik and raise the child with him."

Isis sighed and glanced at Malik.

"Perhaps you're right," she admitted. "But, Malik, I can't believe you didn't tell us of this sooner."

"I knew you'd act like this. That's why I didn't say anything," Malik mumbled, lifting his head from Bakura's shoulder. Isis took a deep breath and sat back down.

"Perhaps I overreacted a bit," she said. "I'm sorry, brother."

"It's okay. Sorry for not telling you the truth." Malik looked up and smiled slightly. Bakura squeezed his shoulder slightly.

"Well, then..." Isis paused. "How...far along are you?" she asked, obviously feeling awkward having this conversation with her brother.

"About eight months," Malik replied, instinctively placing one hand on his stomach. "That's what Yami said. He's kind of been my doctor lately, since I can't exactly go to a real hospital without becoming tomorrow's headline."

"The Pharoah's been helping you?" Isis raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised that you managed to convince _someone_ to go to him for help." Malik smiled.

"Actually, it was Bakura who went to him first, sis."

"Really?!" Isis was genuinely shocked, earning a chuckle from Bakura.

"I'm not as much of an idiot as you think I am, Isis-chan."

Isis shot Bakura a dirty look before turning back to her little brother. She was beginning to relax a little.

"So, is it a boy or a girl?" she asked. Now that she knew her brother's secret, she was going to learn of everything she had missed in the past eight months. Malik bit his lip and glanced at Bakura.

"Well, we don't know yet. We want it to be a surprise, so we told Yami we'd wait till the baby's born to see what it is. I want a girl, and Bakura wants a boy, but Yami told us that there's only one baby in here, so I'm either gonna have one or the other."

"Oh. Do you at least have any names chosen?"

"Yeah. If she's a girl we're naming her Cleopatra. If he's a boy, Yukio." Isis mulled the names over a bit before nodding in approval.

"Yes, those names are just fine, I think."

Bakura rolled his eyes.

"Yes, because your approval was just what we were worrying about when coming up with names," he muttered sarcastically. Malik dug his elbow into Bakura's side.

"Behave!" he hissed.

"Malik." Isis stood up. "Would you mind showing me the nursery? You _do_ have one set up by now, right?" Malik smiled and stood up, letting go of Bakura's hand.

"Of course we have one. Mariku and Ryou came over a while back and helped us set it up. I'll show you. Rishid, do you wanna come?"

"No, thank you. I'll stay here and have a talk with Bakura." Bakura glanced at the bald Egyptian and raised an eyebrow. He had a feeling he wouldn't quite like hearing what Rishid was going to say to him. Unfortunately, Malik didn't seem to notice.

"Oh, okay, then." Malik leaned down and kissed Bakura's cheek before turning to his sister. "The nursery's upstairs. I'll show you," he said, leading her up the stairs. Bakura watched them go before turning back to Rishid.

"If you're going to break me in half, might I suggest staging it to look like an accident, so your little brother doesn't hate you for the rest of your life?" Bakura said, leaning back against the back of the couch lazily. Rishid raised an eyebrow, but otherwise ignored the thief.

"You know, I don't hold much against you personally," the eldest Ishtar said. "I just don't like that you're dating my brother." Bakura rolled his eyes.

"Yes, yes, I've heard it all before, the two of you don't like me, you're both anxiously awaiting the day that Malik realizes his mistake and comes running back to you begging for forgiveness. You know it's never going to happen."

"I know." Rishid sighed. "I thank you for taking care of Malik and staying with him for this long, but part of me wonders, how well do you think you can raise a child? Do you honestly think that you of all people can put your life on hold to take care of a life that you helped to create?" Bakura bristled and glared at Rishid.

"Of course I can! I'll be a great parent!" he said. "I know what it takes to raise a child, and I'm nowhere near as irresponsible as you and that she-witch make me out to be!"

Rishid stared at Bakura with a blank expression on his face.

"How exactly did you two come up with those names?"

Bakura, caught off-guard by the change of subject, hesitated.

_"Dammit. I can't exactly say I was drunk and don't remember anything about that..."_

"You see?" Rishid stared hard at Bakura. "Your hesitation proves my point. You're trying to come up with a story that shows you in a decent light. Do you even remember how you decided on a name?"

Bakura chose a glare was the best answer. Rishid shook his head.

"Like I said, I don't hold anything against you personally. I only want what's best for Malik. I'm not so sure that a tomb robber fits into that category."

* * *

A few hours later, Malik's siblings finally decided to leave.

"Now, Malik, promise me that you'll call as soon as the baby's born. We'll want to visit as soon as possible," Isis said, standing in the doorway.

"Yes, sis."

"And remember to call Yami immediately if you think the baby's coming. I know he's supposed to be coming a few days before your due date, but babies have their own ways of deciding when to be born."

"Yes, I know, sis."

"And do think more about the suggestions I gave you for the nursery. Every baby deserves the perfect room, and your nursery could use just a few more improvements."

"...Bye, sis." Malik shut the door before his sister could say anything further.

Outside, Isis followed Rishid to the car.

"I still hate him."

"Bakura?"

"Yes, him. I'll admit he's done some good taking care of our brother, but now that Malik needs him, I can no longer plot to break the two of them up." Isis sighed. "I swear that thief planned all this."

Rishid laughed, starting the car.

"I doubt he's _that_ smart, Isis."

Inside, Malik walked over to the couch and flopped down, curling up so that his head was in Bakura's lap.

"Didn't think we'd get out of that one alive," he mumbled, sighing.

"Mm," Bakura replied, absently running one hand through Malik's hair.

"I'm kind surprised she didn't yell more, though. I guess she really does love me."

"Mm."

"Although she's just as annoying as ever. You know, she was trying to convince me to move the crib closer to the window in the nursery! She said that it was so the baby would be able to see everything going on outside. I tried to tell her that not only would the bright sunlight hurt the baby's eyes, there's also a draft by the window that could give the baby a cold, but she wouldn't listen. She was even trying to convince me to change the wallpaper after we took so long to agree on it!" Malik snuggled closer to Bakura's lap. "She should just butt out. It's our nursery, not her's."

"Mm."

Malik sat up and looked at Bakura.

"Baku? What's wrong? You're zoning on me."

"Hm?" Bakura looked at Malik. "It's nothing. Just lost in thought." Malik frowned slightly.

"Anything to do with the conversation you had with my brother? What were you two talking about, anyway?"

"Oh, no, no. Nothing to do with that. We were just talking about...some stuff, that's all. Nothing to worry about."

Malik crawled into Bakura's lap.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked quietly. Bakura nodded.

"I'm fine. You look tired," he said, running his thumb lightly over the bags under one of Malik's eyes. Malik nodded.

"I guess I am kinda tired. I haven't gotten too much sleep lately, because of..." he glanced down at his stomach. Bakura nodded.

"Why don't you go take a nap?" he suggested. "You'll need your strength for when the baby comes."

"We've still got at least a month to worry about that, Bakura." Malik smiled slightly. "But a nap does sound nice. Care to join me?"

"In a minute." Bakura gently kissed Malik's forehead. "Go to bed, I'll be right up."

Malik blinked, nodding.

"O-okay," he said, standing up. Bakura waited until he was upstairs before digging around in the couch cushions, pulling out a small red and white box.

Mariku had felt sorry for him when he learned that Malik had thrown out all of Bakura's cigarettes, so he had given him one of his own packs out of sympathy. It was a different brand than Bakura was used to, but he figured that a cigarette was a cigarette, and damn did he need one right about now.

He lit one of the cancer sticks and leaned against the back of the couch, thinking hard. What Rishid had said had struck a nerve in him. What made him think that he could honestly raise a child? Malik was counting on him, but what the hell was he supposed to do? He didn't know the first thing about children. He didn't want to leave Malik, but having a baby with him had never been on Bakura's agenda.

Bakura puffed on his cigarette, thinking hard. He couldn't raise a child, he knew that much. Malik was counting on him, he knew that too.

"Why am I letting that oaf get to me like this," Bakura muttered, putting out his cigarette. "Am I really going to fall to pieces just because _one_ idiot says I can't take care of children. Well, I'll show him. I'll show them all. I can take care of Malik, and raise my child. Hate to disappoint you, Rishid, but you're about to be proven wrong."

* * *

**Malik is eight months along.**

**I hope you all liked reading this chapter. If you all liked the drama, there's definitely more to come!**

**Review if you liked it!**


	19. Chapter 18

**I am very sorry this chapter took so long. I had a lot of different ideas for what I wanted to do with it, and I ended up debating for a long time which route to take. I'm really sorry for the long wait, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

Malik's eyes opened and he squinted at the clock. 3:42. Sighing, he pushed himself into a sitting position. Attempting to get any sleep at all had been a losing battle for the past month. The slightest shift from the baby was enough to immediately jolt him into wakefulness.

The mattress shifted next to him, shaking him from his thoughts as Bakura sat up and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"You should be asleep, Malik," Bakura murmured. Malik shook him off.

"You think I haven't been _trying_ to sleep?" he snapped. Bakura sighed, leaning forward and nuzzling Malik's cheek.

"You're tired, that's why you're cranky," he said. "Just try to relax and get some sleep. You need your rest." Malik grumbled and threw back the covers.

"I'm going to get a glass of milk," he said. Bakura grabbed his arm and pulled him back onto the bed.

"You stay here. I'll get it for you," he said firmly, pulling the blankets back up around Malik and getting up. Malik rolled his eyes, tossing off the blankets and climbing out of bed.

"I can get it myself," he said. Bakura sighed. He turned to Malik with a glimmer of impatience in his eyes.

"Malik, you should rest. It's late, and it isn't healthy for you to be up this late."

"Bakura, I've been doing nothing _but_ rest for the past month! You haven't let me do _anything_! Every time I try to do the laundry, or wash the dishes, or anything, you're always taking over, sounding like a broken record! 'Go rest, go rest.' That's all I ever hear from you. It isn't healthy - for me or the baby - to stay in bed all the time!" Malik's voice had risen progressively throughout the course of his rant, and he was almost shouting by the time he finished, causing the baby to shift. Bakura was silent for a few moments.

"Malik, you're just tired. Why don't you go back to bed, and I'll get your milk, okay?"

Malik waited until Bakura's back was turned before grabbing the nearest object and throwing it at him as hard as he could. The phone bounced off the top of Bakura's head and slid out into the hallway. Immediately, Bakura whirled around, finally at the end of his patience. He stalked over to Malik and grabbed the boy's arm, yanking him close so that they were nose-to-nose.

"I've been trying to be courteous to you and your..._condition_, Malik, but I am getting sick and tired of these damn mood swings of yours!" Malik narrowed his eyes, matching Bakura glare for glare.

"_You're_ sick and tired of it?!" He yanked his arm from Bakura's grip. "You've hardly done a _thing_ for me and the baby for the past nine months, and you have the _nerve_ to tell me that _you're_ getting sick and tired?! Bakura, I am _terrified_. In a little over a week, Yami is going to come and pull an actual, living, breathing baby out of me, and I'm going to be expected to know exactly what to do with it for basically the rest of its life. I haven't been this scared since my initiation. So don't even _try_ to tell me that you're the one suffering through all of this."

Bakura sighed. It was hard to stay angry and argue with that. He grabbed hold of Malik's shoulders and pushed him onto the bed.

"Just go to bed," he muttered. Malik glared up at him, tears glistening in his eyes.

"You don't even _care_, do you?!" he yelled. "I haven't been this scared since I was a child, and you don't even care!"

"Malik, you know I care, I just-"

"No you don't!" Malik squeezed his eyes shut and bowed his head, fighting the urge to cry. "You don't care about me, and you don't care about our baby! You never even _wanted_ her to begin with!"

"Malik-"

"Why can't you ever think of anyone but yourself? Why do you always have to be so _selfish_?!"

"Malik!" Bakura grabbed the Egyptian's arms, earning a small cry from his lover. "Just shut up! I love you, okay?! I'm trying to take care of you so that your brother doesn't think I'm a total failure, but I have no fucking clue how to!"

Malik stared at Bakura with huge, tear-filled eyes. He opened his mouth and flinched slightly before speaking.

"Bakura...wh-what did you just say?"

"I said...I said I..." Bakura's own eyes widened. He took a step away from Malik as his own confession sank in. "Oh, gods, I..." He ran both hands through his hair. "I need some air." He started for the door.

"Bakura?"

"I'm just going for a walk, to clear my head a bit. Get some sleep, I'll be back when you wake up."

"Bakura!" Malik let out a gasp. He stared down at his stomach, the gnawing terror inside quickly becoming ravenous. His eyes grew huge. He forgot how to breathe. The pain he had felt just a few moments earlier, and was feeling now, had not been the baby kicking him, but rather, the baby shifting, moving into position.

In short, he was having contractions when he shouldn't.

"Oh, gods. No. No, please! Bakura! _Bakura_!" he shouted, desperation quickly taking over his voice.

But Bakura was already gone. Malik gripped his head in both hands, willing the contractions to stop.

"No, please, no. It's too early. I'm supposed to have another week and a half before Yami does the c-section. Dammit, you can't come out yet! I'm not ready - agh!" Malik doubled over, pressing his face against the mattress as another contraction hit. He started breathing hard, fighting the urge to panic.

"Okay, okay, calm down," he told himself. "Just call Yami and tell him to _get his ass over here right fucking now_!" Malik lurched upright and reached for the phone - _which wasn't there_.

Malik's stomach sank. He had thrown the phone at Bakura. It was lying in the middle of the hallway.

"Okay. Don't panic, just get up and go get it." Malik cringed as another wave of pain rippled through him. "Come on. You've been through worse pain than this. It doesn't hurt that much. Go get the phone _your baby is coming and it doesn't have anywhere to go go get the phone_!"

With some difficulty, Malik managed to pull himself up. The contractions weren't quite as bad anymore, but he couldn't tell if that meant they were going away or if he was just getting used to them. He made his way out to the hallway and grabbed the phone, holding it to his ear.

Nothing. Empty silence was all he heard.

Still fighting the urge to panic, Malik dialed the number for the Game Shop, praying to whatever god happened to be listening that it would work.

Still silent. The phone was dead.

Malik slumped to his knees, the little energy he had drained.

"Damn you, Bakura," he whispered, tears slipping down his cheeks. He threw the phone to the ground. "Damn you and your stupid hard head!"

Thunder rumbled in the distance as Malik wrapped his arms around his stomach, trying to stop the contractions.

"Bakura, please," he murmured. "If you don't get back here soon..." Malik squeezed his eyes shut and curled up on the floor, in pain and terrified.

* * *

Bakura blindly walked down the street, not noticing when the first few drops of rain hit him in the face. His head was too full of thoughts to concentrate on anything.

He had said it. He had actually said it. He had admitted - to Malik and to himself - that he loved him. Gods, he loved him. The great tomb robber had fallen in love with a tombkeeper.

"What am I supposed to do now?" Bakura muttered. "I didn't expect to say it, hell, I didn't even know I _could_ say it! So what now? Is he going to expect me to say it to him every time he says it to me? I can't do that. I know I can't. Gods..." Bakura ran his fingers through his now-soaked hair. "What do normal people do in these situations? Oh, wait, normal people don't _have_ these kind of situations because they aren't a spirit sealed away in an ancient artifact for thousands of years who somehow knocked-up his boyfriend and isn't able to freely admit that he loves him!"

Bakura was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he almost didn't hear the first peal of thunder. He paused and looked up at the sky. Lightning flashed and he took off running in the direction he had come from.

If there was one thing Malik hated more than anything, it was being left alone in a thunderstorm. He would never admit it, but his fear of thunder was almost crippling, and Bakura knew it. It hadn't been until he and Malik had started living together that Bakura found out that Malik was downright petrified of thunder. He had woken up during a thunderstorm one night to find his lover huddled against his side, wide awake and obviously very much afraid. Bakura teased him constantly about his fear, and would often use it to have his way with Malik, but that was the last thing on his mind at the moment.

Malik was more than nine months pregnant, with just over a week until the baby was due. Bakura didn't know what would happen if Malik were to freak out at this point in the pregnancy, but he definitely didn't want to find out.

"Malik," Bakura murmured. "_Please_ be alright."

* * *

Malik was far from being alright. Every time he thought the contractions were starting to let up, they would suddenly get worse, and they were starting to occur more often now. And to top it off, it was thundering, making him feel even more terrified than he already was.

"Bakura will be home soon," Malik told himself. "Stop lying on the floor. Get up and get in the bed. It hurts a lot, but lying on the floor doesn't help so just _get up_!"

Malik forced himself to stand up and immediately wished he hadn't. He stumbled into the bedroom and fell onto the bed. He curled up into a tight ball just as he heard the front door bang open and someone run up the stairs.

"Malik!" Bakura ran into the room. He sounded relieved to find the Egyptian right where he had left him. He sat down on the bed and gently ran one hand through Malik's hair. "I came back as soon as it started thundering. Are you okay?"

Malik was so relieved that his lover had come back - just in time - that he could hardly speak.

_"It's going to be okay now,"_ he thought.

"I-" he started, breaking off with a wince. He grabbed Bakura's hand and squeezed it until the contraction passed. "Bakura, please tell me you have your cell phone."

Bakura nodded, his brow creasing in concern.

"Of course I do. Why-" Malik cut him off.

"Call Yami. Right now."

"Malik...you're not-"

"Tell him he needs to get over here right now." Malik swallowed hard and gripped Bakura's hand. "I'm about to have a baby."

* * *

**I probably over-exaggerated Malik's reactions to the contractions a bit, but in the books I've read where people have kids, they all have different reactions. Plus Malik was panicking, which probably would make it a lot worse.**

**I don't quite know if this chapter was entirely worth the wait, as I did kind of rush to finish it, but I'm pretty sure that the next chapter (which will be the second-to-last chapter in this story, unfortunately) will be more intriguing.**


	20. Chapter 19

**Well, here it is, the second-to-last chapter. It's up earlier than I anticipated, too!**

**HUGE shoutout to Jonescalypso for helping me smooth out some details for this chapter, although they may not remember, as it was in January when it happened. :P**

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

"Bakura, it hurts."

"I know, Malik. The Pharaoh will be here soon. Just try to calm down."

"I can't just 'calm down' it fucking _hurts_!"

Bakura ran his free hand through Malik's hair, trying to comfort him. His other hand was locked in Malik's, and was practically broken from all the times it had been squeezed.

"I'm right here, Malik," Bakura murmured. "I'm right here."

"I know, I know." Malik gripped Bakura's hand tighter. "You came back," he whispered.

"Of course I came back," Bakura replied. "I lo-..." He closed his eyes, silently cursing himself. It shouldn't be so hard for him to just say it! "...You're the most important person in the world to me. I couldn't just leave you alone to deal with a thunderstorm by yourself."

"The storm was the _least _of my worries after you left," Malik said, briefly squeezing Bakura's hand as another contraction passed. "I'm just glad you made it back in time."

"Yeah. I am too." Bakura glanced at the clock. Yami should have been here by now. What was keeping him? Bakura's thoughts were interrupted by the front door opening and several pairs of feet pounding up the stairs. The spirit sighed in relief.

"He's here, Malik," he whispered. Malik nodded, his eyes squeezed shut.

Yami came into the room, with Ryou and Mariku right behind him.

"What took you so long?" Bakura demanded.

"I had to pick up Ryou and Mariku. I need extra hands for this, and I figured you would be busy keeping Malik calm," Yami said while moving around the room, setting up a small table and setting a small tub of water on it. "Well, I needed Ryou's help, at least, but Mariku wanted to come along."

Malik let out a tiny whimper and Yami immediately went to the bed.

"How are you holding up, Malik?" he asked.

"Not good," Malik admitted. "I just want it _out_."

"That's what I'm here for. Bakura, I need you to-"

"I'm not leaving," Bakura growled, suddenly remembering his nightmare from all those months ago. Yami raised an eyebrow.

"I'd expect you to stay, tomb robber, I need you here to keep him from panicking. I was going to say I need you to pull his shirt up a bit so I can get to the baby easier."

"Oh. Right." Bakura reached for the hem of Malik's shirt and hitched it up a bit, allowing Yami easier access to Malik's swollen stomach.

"Good." Yami glanced at Ryou and Mariku. "I suggest you two stay out of my way. I'm not exactly sure of what I'm doing."

"Oh, _that's_ reassuring," Malik muttered, fear flitting across his face.

"Don't worry, Malik, I'm sure everything will be fine." Yami placed his hands on Malik's stomach and concentrated. "I think I can feel the baby's head right here. Bakura, keep Malik still. This will be much easier if he doesn't squirm around."

"Easy for you to say," Malik said, cringing. "I am in _pain_ here!" Yami sighed.

"I know. Just bear with it a little while longer. This is going to feel really weird."

Yami placed his hands on Malik's stomach again, concentrating hard. His hands began to glow with the purple-black aura of Shadow Magic and quickly, before Malik could make a sound, he dragged his right hand along the Egyptian's stomach, making a large, clean cut.

"Ah-!" Malik bit his tongue to keep himself from crying out. Bakura stroked his hair gently, watching Yami carefully. The ex-Pharaoh made a bit of a face as he carefully reached inside of Malik and tried to get a firm grip on the baby.

"Definitely your kid, Bakura," he muttered. "Doesn't want to hold still long enough for me to get a grip."

Bakura didn't respond, but continued watching. Malik had his eyes closed, apparently trying to block out the whole ordeal. Yami gritted his teeth in concentration, finally managing to find a way to grab the squirming child in such a way that it wouldn't be harmed upon removal.

"Here goes nothing," Yami muttered. There were a few seconds of silence as he pulled the baby out. He nodded to Ryou, who came over and collected the baby as Yami used the shadow magic to cut the cord connected to the baby's navel. Immediately, a thin wailing rose from the child, breaking the tension in the room.

Malik opened his eyes and smiled slightly, pushing himself into a half-sitting position. Bakura blinked and looked down at Malik, staring at him almost as if he weren't seeing him. Yami nodded for Ryou to take the child over to the tub of water and clean it off.

"Well, tomb robber, congratulations are in order. You have a son."

"A son?" Malik whispered, eyes wide. "It's a boy?"

"Yes, Malik. It's a boy," Yami said with a smile.

Malik let out a half-gasp, half-laugh, leaning against Bakura with tears running down his face. Bakura's only response was to tighten his grip on his lover as he stared over to where Ryou was cleaning off the baby - his son.

"_I have a family. For the first time in...I don't even know how long anymore. I have a family again. A real family,"_ Bakura thought, trying to pull Malik closer to him. "_I don't know which of the gods think I deserve this, but...thank you."_

"Malik, I know this is very exciting and emotional, but I need you to hold still for just a moment more..." Yami's hands glowed once more as he re-sealed the cut on Malik's stomach. He glanced at it and winced.

"Sorry, Malik. That's gonna leave a scar," he said. Malik smiled slightly.

"It's okay," he said. _"That's one scar I'll never regret_," he added silently.

Ryou walked over with the baby - now clean and wrapped up in a blanket. He was talking to him softly and smiling at him, trying to make him stop crying. It was working, for the most part.

"Malik, look at him. He's the sweetest little thing I've ever seen."

Malik eagerly reached for his child and Ryou settled the bundle into his arms.

"Careful. Support his head like this, that's it. Don't squeeze him too tight," Ryou murmured, before stepping back to rejoin Mariku. Malik gazed down at the baby, beaming.

"Bakura, look at him. He's so beautiful...He's our baby."

The child had pale blonde hair, bordering on white, and lightly tanned skin. Seeming to recognize that he had been given to his parent, he opened his eyes and blinked up at Malik. His eyes were a deep purple with flecks of blue in them. Anyone could tell at a glance that he was indeed the child of the infamous Bakura Touzokou and Malik Ishtar.

Malik looked at Bakura, smiling. Bakura kept his gaze fixed on his son - Yukio. That was the name they had decided on. Malik gently ran his fingers through the wispy hair on the baby's head, smiling broadly. The baby let out a happy coo and waved his tiny fist in the air.

Bakura blinked. He bit his lip and stared at the child. Slowly, he reached out a finger and touched the baby's hand. With a tiny giggle, the baby curled his finger's around his parent's finger and blinked up at Bakura. The Thief King made a small noise that sounded suspiciously like he was trying not to cry and looked at Malik.

"That's our son," he whispered, sounding like he almost didn't believe it. Malik nodded, laughing.

"Our son. Bakura, we have a _son_!"

Bakura cupped Malik's face in his free hand, kissing him fiercely.

"I love you," Malik whispered, as Bakura kissed him again. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," Bakura murmured. He pressed his forehead against Malik's, staring down at their son. He smiled. This was real. This was actually real. This was his son, his family. Gently, he stroked his son's cheek with one finger. The baby yawned and snuggled closer to Malik's warmth, closing his eyes.

Ryou rested his head against Mariku's shoulder, trying to keep himself from crying at the touching scene. Mariku wrapped an arm around Ryou's waist and bent down.

"Doesn't it give you any ideas, Ryou? Any at all?" he whispered in Ryou's ear. Ryou sighed.

"We'll talk about it later, okay?" he whispered back.

"So, tomb robber," Yami dragged Malik and Bakura's attention away from their son. "Your kid needs a name, doesn't he?"

"It's Yukio," Bakura said. He looked back at his son. "Yukio Ishtar."

Malik leaned against Bakura, suddenly very tired. It was almost five in the morning, he realized.

"We'll have to call Isis and Rishid later, to let them know," he said.

"Oh, I think that could wait...oh, another month or two," Bakura said. "Maybe six."

Malik laughed, leaning down to place a kiss on Yukio's forehead.

"It isn't fair to keep him to ourselves, Baku," he said.

"Knowing your sister, I'd say it's plenty fair." Bakura couldn't help but smile at Yukio as the child tightened his grip around Bakura's finger, which was still clutched in his tiny hand.

He had created this. Bakura couldn't help but feel proud. Out of all the tombs he had robbed, all the graves he had plundered, _this_ was the best treasure he had managed to find. After thousands of years, he had a family again. He had somehow, along with the love of his life, created this perfect child. He smiled, thanking whatever gods happened to be listening to him. He must have done some good in the past, or he wouldn't have been blessed like this.

Now if only Isis didn't have to know...

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**Like I said, the next chapter, the epilogue will be the last chapter in this story, but I'm hoping to make some oneshots based on this story in the future, and, if I feel ambitious enough, I may write a multichapter Deathshipping mpreg. Not sure yet, but I have a few ideas buzzing in my head.**

**Reviews are much appreciated!**


	21. Epilouge

**Well, here it is, the final chapter! Thanks to everyone who stuck around this long, and I hope you all enjoy this last chapter.**

**anime5430 - I haven't actually seen Blue Exorcist, so that's not where I got Yukio from. I actually just looked up a bunch of Japanese names and looked for one with a meaning that I felt would seem appropriate. I decided on Yukio because one of the meanings was "gets what he wants" which I felt was perfect for the child of a thief king.**

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One week later...

"_WAHHH!_" Malik opened his eyes and let out a soft groan. He felt the mattress shift and rolled over to face Bakura, propping himself up on one elbow.

"What time is it?" Malik asked. Bakura shrugged.

"Close enough to feeding time, I guess," he muttered.

Yukio started wailing louder, effectively regaining both of his father's attention. Bakura went over to the bassinet and picked him up, cradling him gently against his shoulder. Malik smiled sweetly at him.

"I'll get the bottle if you get the diaper," he said.

"Don't you _always_ make me get the diaper?" Bakura asked, bouncing the baby slightly in an attempt to quiet him.

"Well, you might as well, as long as you've already got him," Malik shot back, sitting up. He grunted softly and pressed one hand against his stomach.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine, just a bit sore."

"Still?" Bakura's brow creased. "Shouldn't you be better by now?"

"It's fine. Yami said it would probably be a while before I'm fully healed." Malik walked over and pressed a kiss to the top of Yukio's head, smiling at the sound of discontent that escaped the baby.

"I'll go get his bottle ready," Malik said, disappearing out of the room. Bakura sighed and looked down at the child in his arms.

"I suppose you'll be expecting a diaper change, huh?" he muttered, already walking towards the bathroom. Yukio looked up at his father, sucking his thumb. Bakura smiled slightly as he set the baby down on the changing table and grabbed the clean diaper and baby powder.

"Now let's clear one thing up," he said, changing the diaper. "If you _ever_ pee on me like you did yesterday, I can promise you that every girl you bring home will hear about it."

Yukio blinked up at Bakura, obviously not understanding a word he was saying. Bakura shook his head as he looked at his son. It was hard to believe that this tiny, dependent thing was one day going to be the king of thieves. A future king of thieves who shouldn't have even existed.

Bakura carefully placed one hand on Yukio's head. He traced the soft circle on top of his son's head carefully with one finger. It could be so easy...all he had to do was apply a bit of pressure and things could go back to normal. He and Malik could go back to their old life, just the two of them.

Yukio whined and wriggled slightly, realizing that his father was not making a move to pick him back up. Bakura blinked, snapping out of his thoughts. He pulled his hand back, feeling disgusted with himself. He picked up Yukio and held him tightly as the baby snuggled close to him. He was supposed to be the one to protect his son. Yukio needed him to keep him safe, not plot his premature death.

"I'm sorry," Bakura murmured. "I'm sorry." He leaned down and nuzzled the top of Yukio's head, breathing in the smell of the baby shampoo Malik had bought him. "I promise, I'll protect you." Yukio cooed, reaching up and grasping a handful of Bakura's hair. Bakura winced and smiled.

"Come on, let's go see if Daddy has your bottle ready yet."

Malik was holding Yukio's bottle when Bakura walked into the kitchen.

"Took you long enough," Malik said. Bakura shrugged, handing the baby to Malik.

"Your son wouldn't sit still," he lied, deciding it was best not to tell Malik what it was that had kept them. Malik laughed, shifting Yukio into the crook of his arm.

"Are you giving Daddy a hard time, little man?" he cooed, slipping the bottle into Yukio's mouth. The baby blinked and cuddled up against Malik, eagerly drinking. Bakura sat down, watching.

"So what time is your sister coming over, again?" he asked.

"Around ten," Malik answered.

"I don't see why she has deemed it necessary to visit every other day," Bakura grumbled. "It was bad enough having her here the day after he was born. She's inviting herself over way too often for my liking."

"Well can you really blame her?" Malik smiled fondly down at Yukio, who was starting to slip into a half-asleep state. "He's too perfect to just keep to ourselves." Bakura smiled.

"Got me there," he said.

Yukio's eyes slipped closed. Malik took the now-empty bottle out of his mouth and set the baby against his shoulder, rubbing his back gently. Bakura stood and followed as Malik carried the baby upstairs to their room. Yukio fidgeted slightly as Malik set him down in the bassinet, but then relaxed. With a smile, Malik brushed Yukio's already-long hair off of his face.

Malik let out a small squeak as Bakura crept up behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist.

"Is he asleep?" Bakura whispered, running his tongue lightly against Malik's earlobe.

"Y-yes." Malik wet his lips. "Do we have time?"

"The kid's sound asleep and we've still got a few hours before your sister shows up. I say we can make some time."

Bakura spun Malik around in his arms and smirked. Malik glanced at Yukio briefly before returning it with his own devilish grin.

"Think you can be quiet enough?" he whispered.

"Oh, Malik, if I were you, I'd be more concerned with keeping yourself quiet than a thief."

Malik wound his arms around Bakura's neck and pulled him down, sliding his tongue into his lover's mouth. Bakura grinned into the exchange and started walking backwards, pulling Malik towards the bed.

Malik shoved Bakura down and crawled on top of him, tugging at his pants. Bakura smirked.

"Someone's a little anxious," he teased.

"Shh!" Malik hissed, glancing back at the bassinet. Bakura rolled his eyes.

"Hey." He hooked his fingers around Malik's collar and pulled him down, rolling over on top of him. "Yukio's fine. He's asleep, and even if he wakes up, it's not like he's gonna know what it is we're doing."

As he talked, Bakura slipped down Malik's pants and boxers enough to expose his half-hard erection. With a smirk, he leaned down and pressed his tongue against the tip. Malik drew in a breath sharply and tipped his head back.

"F-fuck..." he cursed quietly as Bakura pressed the very tip of his tongue against the slit. "I can't...can't believe I'm letting you do this...wh-when our baby isn't even...ten feet away!"

Bakura rubbed his tongue against Malik's cock, earning a whimper from the boy who was obviously trying to keep quiet. He smirked.

"Well can you blame me?" he murmured, pressing a soft kiss to the inside of Malik's thigh. "It's been so long, for both of us. If I had to wait much longer, I'd probably explode."

"Ah-!" Malik bit his lip, struggling to keep quiet. Yukio may have been asleep, but they didn't know just how deep of a sleeper he was yet. "Just...just hurry up!"

Bakura opened his mouth and drew Malik's cock in. Malik closed his eyes, biting down on his lip to be quiet. When Bakura started bobbing his head, Malik just about lost it.

"Gods..." he murmured. "Not too fast..."

Bakura chuckled around the obstruction in his mouth.

"You _said_ to hurry up."

"Bakura...I..." Malik pushed his hips upwards with a gasp as he came. Bakura quickly swallowed before sitting back up and crawling over Malik. Malik panted softly as he stared up at the spirit.

"I'm not finished with you yet," Bakura murmured. Malik wrapped his arms around Bakura's neck and pulled him down, pressing his lips eagerly to the thief's. Bakura's tongue had just made contact with Malik's when...

"_WAHHH!_"

Malik immediately sat up, shoving Bakura off of him. Scrambling to pull up his pants, he quickly went over to the bassinet and lifted up Yukio, settling him against his shoulder.

Disgruntled, Bakura stood up; any arousal he may have gained was completely gone.

"He did that on purpose." Malik rolled his eyes.

"Of course he did."

"He did!"

"Bakura, he was just lonely and needed to be held. See?"

Yukio was cuddled up against Malik's shoulder, sucking his thumb. He stared at Bakura from over Malik's shoulder and blinked at him. Bakura sighed.

"I'm never gonna get used to this," he muttered, gently stroking Yukio's hair.

"Of course you will. _We_ will." Malik smiled. "It may not be easy, but that's the fun part."

Bakura wrapped his arms around Malik's waist and looked at Yukio. The baby stared back. Bakura blinked; for a second, it had looked like Yukio had smiled at him. He shook his head. It would still be a few weeks before Yukio was old enough to smile. But still...

Bakura smiled. He knew that for the next several years he would be having late nights and early mornings, more diapers and wet pants than he'd be able to count, probably countless nights of interrupted sex, but he also knew that it would all be worth it. He doubted that he or Malik would ever want more kids (Malik was unwilling to go through that ordeal ever again and Bakura flat-out refused to have sex with the intention of having children) so he decided it was best to enjoy this while it lasted.

Leaning forward, he brushed his lips against Yukio's forehead. The baby cooed as his eyes slid shut, drifting back off to sleep. Malik held him for a few seconds longer before gently setting him back in the bassinet and turning to Bakura with a smirk.

"Think he'll stay asleep long enough for us to finish?" he asked. Bakura pulled Malik closer.

"Oh, probably not, but I'm always up for a challenge."

Pulling Malik onto the bed, Bakura connected their lips, sliding his hands up Malik's shirt. Grinning, Malik broke away, pressing his face into the crook of Bakura's neck.

"Baku?"

"Hm?"

"I love you."

"I love you, too, Malik. I always will."

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**And that concludes But It's Impossible! I hope you all enjoyed this, even though the ending was a bit cheesy. Make sure to keep an eye out for any future oneshots involving Yukio and possibly a multichapter fic involving a Deathshipping mpreg!**

**R&R, please!**


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